


RE: DanganRonpa, Return to Hope’s Peak Academy

by HerTravesty, Strigentine



Series: RE:DR [1]
Category: Dangan Ronpa, Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Danganronpa
Genre: Fan Dangan Ronpa, Fangan Ronpa, Gen, Potential spoilers for any installment in the series
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-07
Updated: 2018-07-02
Packaged: 2018-08-20 02:46:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 33,640
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8233334
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HerTravesty/pseuds/HerTravesty, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Strigentine/pseuds/Strigentine
Summary: Monokuma returns to his old tricks amid the ruins of the world. With a fresh class of students and the school under new management, he aims for one more game to spread despair.





	1. Foreword

**Author's Note:**

> I'd like to note that this was originally published/created before the release of Another Episode and the Future/Despair Arcs. There might be similarities or parallels from the original draft of the story to anything that came of the series or other prominent fanworks after that time that were not intentional. Any references to those things that I put in after-the-fact will hopefully be clearly represented as such.
> 
> Fangz 2 izzy 4 da help!!!

            O’ Despair. It’s a universal constant that will inevitably taint even the most pristine of utopias. Not a single living creature can evade it. Despair contorts itself past all defenses. No matter the precautions, despair will always find a means of infiltration. Sometimes these very mechanisms of defense prove to be the opportunity for despair to take hold. Say someone isolates themselves so as to never feel the despair of losing a friend or the death of a loved one. But in the very end, it is that solitude and loneliness that leads them to despair!

            Some zealots would like to believe that faith is the path to salvation. That this “hope” will protect them from despair. But hope is an unreliable source! A nonrenewable resource that turns into endless despair when it has been exhausted. Ultimately, hope is nothing more than denial of reality. The belief that ultimately the future will be better. But there is no way of knowing this for sure. And people who are unequipped to handle that truth only get hit harder. The brightest lights cast the darkest shadows. We are all constantly in the process of dying. Job teaches us this tale of endurance, but it was not hope in the future that resolved his problems. Hope is inaction. No, it was only once the variable causing Job’s suffering was removed did his life return to normal. Had his trial been one day longer, he surely would have fallen into despair. And in the end, Job was still only mortal and on his track toward death.

            Hope is mere delusion. It is only despair that comes with absolute certainty. It is the inevitability of hope. If you have hope you _will_ experience despair. If you do not have hope you _are_ experiencing despair. Just like if you eat a big meal, you’ll inevitably have to use the bathroom, the mere act of having hope sets you up for despair. Not everyone will have the will to act on their hopes, but everyone will know the warm shroud of despair in their lifetime. It is unavoidable. Even if you seclude yourself from the experience of life. That seclusion only becomes your despair. Despair is best done ironically, you know.

            But the difference between the two comes down to the irrefutable facts. Hope is a mindset. Despair is a condition. Hope can linger for only seconds in one’s mind before being dashed, but for some people despair can linger with them for their entire lives. When you despair, you are not shocked by the disappointments of life. When you despair you do not question the future. When you despair, you have certainty. And if something betrays your expectations, it only becomes more despair. "For even if all of the despair in the world was erased, then that would be reason enough to feel despair."

            These are simply the true facets of hope and despair. Humans do their all to defy despair which they know is an inevitability. Death itself and its uncertainty is despair. After all, it is our much revered William Shakespeare, author of many tragedies in which his characters are all submerged in despair, who wrote, “Of all the wonders that I yet have heard, It seems to me most strange that men should fear; Seeing that death, a necessary end, Will come when it will come.” But humans incessantly try to stop the unstoppable ends. Despair is the end of hope. And hope is only the intermission between despair.

            But what about me? I don’t struggle with the duality of hope and despair; I’m a being made only from despair who cares only for despair and experiences only despair. Why’s that? ‘Cause I’m a **bear**!

            This has been the Gospel of Despair.


	2. Prologue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We're introduced to our protagonist, Hayate Ishida, the Super High School Level Lucky Student.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You'll notice I primarily go by Orenronen's translation. It is my preferred version. Not everything will be perfectly lifted from his translation, though. It'll feature the terminology from Oren's translation but with the more fluid sentence structure of the NisAmerica version. (Example: "culprit" instead of "blackened" but with slightly less awkward sentence structure.)  
> This is just how it's going to be.  
> Fankz 2 izhi 4 di hlep!  
> EDIT, 4/15/18: As a dislcaimer, I'd like to say that our protagonist, Hayate, is an idiot and a fool. He's completely clueless and was meant to be a satirical caricature of some of the problems from the DR games, like the abundant sexism, cisnormativity, and bland protagonists. This, and as an attempt to make a character who is true to the behavior of someone his age. His thoughts do not reflect my own. Proceed with that in mind.

            Before me stood the towering Hope’s Peak Academy. A compilation of bricks and glass laid together and molded into a building that represented the Hope of countless generations. Students who are scouted to attend this school are said to be slotted for success later in life. Hope’s Peak only recruits the most talented of today’s youth to study their talent and help refine it for the benefit of humanity. A real organization of philanthropists. And I was lucky enough to be included as one of humanity’s elite to attend! No, really! It was literally luck that I got to attend. The school hosts an annual raffle to allow one Average Joe entry into the school and they’re titled the Super High School Level Lucky Student. And so I stood in front of that spectacular building, ready to commence my entrance ceremony.

            At least… that’s what I would say. If I was actually standing in front of Hope’s Peak. I’m sorry for misleading you. I was just practicing my speech for when the time actually comes. I’m told that every good high school experience starts with a strong internal monologue. I did get accepted into Hope’s Peak, that part’s true. But the new semester hasn’t started just yet. That should still be about a week away. Until then, I’m stuck packing my things for the flight. It’s sort of hard to pack when you have emotional parents constantly showering you with pride and adulation. Really, I didn’t even do anything! I just won a raffle. But still, they’re so supportive. By the way, I’m Hayate Ishida (石田 ハヤテ) and as expected, I’m just a painfully average student.

            That’s enough of staring at my desktop, though (whose wallpaper had come to host the immaculate face of Hope’s Peak Academy), it was time to start packing again now that I finally had some alone time. Now then, what to bring… I don’t want to pack too heavily, but I don’t want to bare-bones it. It brought me a certain degree of relief that my parents had at least taken care of packing the essentials. Which meant it was all up to me to decide on the luxuries. Just thinking about the pressure made me tired. It’s not flattering to admit, but I’m the kind of person who becomes inexplicably exhausted whenever he imagines doing work or making important decisions. I managed to store my music player, phone and handheld games, but after that it really hit me how tired I was. My back ached from the abnormal amount of bending over I’d been doing to collect all my things lately, and my legs sort of throbbed from all the walking I’d done with my family in preparations for my departure. I decided that I’d already earned a little break. It couldn’t possibly hurt to relax. I had all the time in the world, after all. So, settling my weary body on the bed, I closed my eyes…

            And I dreamt of explosions.

            I woke up, my heart beating out of my chest, to a loud drone. Was somebody blaring air horns outside? Sheepishly, I shuffled over to the window and looked outside. The sky was tinged with the blue of a fresh morning and was pierced by the tireless honking of a black car in my driveway. Was that…? Ah! Amazing! On the hood of the car was the silver crest of Hope’s Peak! Without much thought, I raced from my room, neglecting to bring my luggage, and down my house’s stairs. A cacophony of squeaks greeted my descent, like a row of rusty piano keys. I didn’t want to address it at the time, but now that I think about it, I distinctly remember a feeling of unease about my house… it felt incredibly dark and barren. That feeling you get when you know you’re home alone although you haven’t even confirmed it yet. I didn’t want to think about it at the time either, but my parents also had been acting strangely as of late— pandering aside. But I didn’t have time to dwell on the suspicions of a not-very-observant boy. Yes… and as I grew closer to the front door, my vision turned black. Blackness, slowly creeping from the edges. By the time I opened the door in excitement, the world was so dark outside that I could not see anything clearly. And as a frantic figure emerged from the passenger’s seat and shouted to me something that I can only remember as hushed nonsense, my vision went dark entirely.

            That sounds about right, right? Well, not right as in proper, but that’s how I remember the events prior to my waking up. Only a few moments ago I woke up in this deserted classroom. I wasn’t locked in so my panic was assuaged a bit, but I still had no recollection of how I’d arrived here. All that I just said, those were my last memories prior to waking up in that room. That classroom with metal sheets covering what I can only assume were once windows, held firmly in place by comically large bolts. That classroom with nonsense written on the blackboard. That classroom that had plants growing in the corners and through the floor.


	3. Monokuma Theater 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> upuppuup uppupppp upppupup uupuuuuu uppuuupp uppuuuup uppupppu uupuuuuu uppuppup uppuuuup uppupupp uppuupup uupuuuuu uppuppup uppupppp upppuupu upppuupp uppuupup uupuuuuu uppuuupp uppupppp uppuupuu uppuupup uupuuuuu uppupppp upppupup upppupuu uupuuuuu uppupppp uppuuppu uupuuuuu upuuppup uppupppp uppupppu uppupppp uppupupp upppupup uppuppup uppuuuup uupuuppp upppuupp uupuuuuu uppuppuu uppuuuup upppupup uppuuppp uppupuuu uupupppu

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These chapters were intended to be published on a regular weekly cycle, but idk wtf a SCHEDULE is so we're going to be playing this by ear. (Monokuma Theaters however I won't count as a weekly update, they're far too short for that. We'll see how things go. Imagine me being professional. Haha. That was a laugh. I was laughing.)  
> Fangz to Iz- actually she didn't really help with most of the Monokuma Theaters so...

            When I was first pitching this idea, they told me I was crazy. “We’ve already done this song and dance two if not three times, Mr. Monokuma!” But we as people have been doing the same variations of the same songs and dances for centuries. People don’t just say “Stop doing the waltz already!” Haven’t you people ever heard of a classic before? School Lives of Mutual Killing never get old. They’re a genre of their own! And I’ll thank you to respect that.

            After all: if it ain’t broken— don’t fix it!

 


	4. Chapter 1: If it’s Not Broken, Don’t Fix It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the first part of Chapter One, we're introduced to our cast of Super High School Level students.

            At any rate, I was prowling through the hallways. Well… perhaps not “prowling.” More like that head-whipping stroll tourists do when they’re trying to keep moving but take in everything around them at the same time. I’d only been walking for about a minute before a voice filled the school.

: “Ahem… In case any of you bastards are still roaming the halls like lost souls, the entrance ceremony will be held in the main hall. That’s on the first floor. There is no need to stray to any of the other floors at this time. That is all.”

            The voice exuded a sense of cruelty… the special brand one can only find in the kind of voice that giggles jovially at horror movies or dead bodies. It sounded cute, yet simultaneously severe and threatening. A shiver ran up my spine as I continued down the hall. At last I came across a lobby-looking area. From nearby I heard the sound of talking and realized it was coming from one of the cracked open doors leading out of the lobby. I crept up to it stealthily and pushed it open a little to see inside better. But I misjudged the strength I’d put into it, and my nerves forced me to sling the door wide open.

            When I entered the main hall, I found myself face to face with a cast of colorful characters. Thirteen in all, the others’ gazes turned to me immediately. Some of the faces were familiar, others were not. Some of them were kind, others were not. Kind or not, their combined stares made me feel unease, as though I’d walked into a meeting I was not invited to and was not important enough to appear at. This, for the most part was true, anyway. Judging by those I did recognize, they seemed to be students of Hope’s Peak Academy. They all certainly looked like they’d be the kind to attend such a prestigious school. It felt like the other thirteen and I had been matching eyes for an eternity before someone approached me. A young man, around my age with spiky black hair and a sweater-vest approached me with a pronounced spring to his step. His face was red and his fierce eyes locked with mine no matter how hard I tried to avoid them. He stuck a finger out at me and shouted.

: “Who are you?”

: “Ah-ah, I’m… Hayate Ishida,” I mumbled. The boy cupped his hand behind his ear and leaned forward.

: “I’m sorry, what was that?”

: “Hayate Ishida,” I mumbled with a little more certainty.

: “Speak up when someone’s talking to you! Your name is your own, so shout it with pride already!” He was forceful, but not cruel. And without even realizing it, I found myself…

: “I’m Hayate Ishida!” Yelling back at him in response.

            This guy… he had a feeling around him that demanded enthusiasm and respect. He was definitely a Hope’s Peak student. “Wow… you really motivated me just then. I was feeling confused, but it just kind of… vanished. Are you the Super High School Level Coach?” The boy hopped back a step and straightened his back.

: “I am Akihiko Nakamoto (中本 明彦), the Super High School Level Cheerleader and I wear that title with pride! But I also like Aki as a nickname if you prefer.” I was a little disappointed by this.

: “Oh… aren’t cheerleaders usually cute girls?”

: “Wha-? Ah. And I really liked you…” He seemed to double over a bit in disappointment. I didn’t want to be rude… it’s just that a sporty boy in sporty shorts isn’t what usually comes to mind when someone like me thinks of a cheerleader, and seemed too preppy in style to be what you’d consider an ouendan to look like. I’d heard of male pompom cheerleaders before, but I thought they just existed in movies as an excuse for the plot to move along.

: “No matter!” He suddenly said, nearly doubling backwards this time. “Maybe you can settle for a cute boy instead?” I guess it wouldn’t be like the Super High School Level Cheerleader to get depressed over something like that. “You’re a student here too, right? What’s your talent?”

: “I don’t actually have a talent. I just got lucky.”

: “Lucky?”

: “Yeah, every year the school holds a raffle to admit one average student and I won the raffle. I’m Hayate Ishida, the Super High School Level Lucky Student.”

: “Wow! That’s incredible! Everyone must be so proud of you.”

: “I mean, I guess my family was. But it wasn’t that big of a deal. It’s not like I did anything to deserve to be here.”

: “You won a raffle! Some people say you have a better chance of getting struck by lightning than winning the lottery. Of all of the potential students, you were selected. I can’t say for sure, but maybe luck is something of a talent. You’ll have to show us all just how lucky you can be. Speaking of…” Akihiko twisted his waist around to look at the others, only a few of whom were still watching me. “It’s probably a good idea to introduce yourself. We’ve all already had our introductions since you’re a little late. But at least there won’t be as much confusion trying to get them done. I’ll be your guide to keep you up to date. I’m new here too, but there’s nothing that can’t be solved with teamwork. C’mon!” Without waiting for a response, Akihiko grabbed my wrist and tugged me along. Geez… I guess he really was a Super High School Level Cheerleader.

: “First you should meet our instructor.” He tugged me along to a woman in the far back of the room. I say “woman,” but truthfully she didn’t look any older than the rest of us. And no matter how professional she tried to act, she still had the surrounding attitude of a high school girl. She wore a brown suit with a matching skirt that went down to her knees. She had dark brown hair that was waist-length and feathered out.

: “I am Mizuki Hashimoto (橋本 瑞希), but you’ll be calling me Ms. Hashimoto. I’m an alumnus of Hope’s Peak Academy. I actually only graduated two years ago and my years here were the best of my life. Now I’m officially a teacher at Hope’s Peak and I’m honored to have you all as my first homeroom class! I hope that we can make lots of wonderful memories this year. And whatever’s going on here, I hope to lead us through it with tact and dignity.” That speech sounded like she’d rehearsed it last night to give in front of the class.

: “Whatever’s going on here?”

: “Haven’t you noticed? The windows are all sealed and so is the main entrance.” She turned around and I noticed she’d been standing in front of a huge metal door. There were guns and cameras attached to it and I shuddered.

: “There’s no way out. The board didn’t tell me anything about this. Nothing like this was scheduled…” It was clear she was starting to panic. Akihiko remained vibrant, however.

: “Of course you’ll guide us with tact and dignity, Ms. Hashimoto! We all have the greatest hopes for a fantastic year with you.” Our teacher’s panic-stricken face eased a little bit. This guy’s ability to radiate positivity was actually scary.

: “O-of course! I’m a Hope’s Peak approved instructor after all, aren’t I? Excellent! Akihiko gets extra credit for good spirit!” Her voice betrayed this sentiment, showing she knew she didn’t have the authority to do such a thing in our current situation. She probably didn’t feel any different from the rest of us here. Regardless, Akihiko pulled his fist down in victory over his imaginary extra credit. He tugged me along to our next target while we left Ms. Hashimoto to her anxious thoughts. Not far away from her was a blonde boy with piercing violet eyes in a cyan suit.

: “Enchanté, mon chéri,” the boy said taking me by my hand and exhausting what little French was in his arsenal. Still holding me firmly by the hand and making no moves indicating he would release it any time soon, he continued. “I am Hideo Fujimura (藤村 英夫), the Super High School Level Host.”

: “Like from a Host Club? Isn’t that a little risqué for a high school? And a little…” I didn’t know how to put it into words. Basically, I expected to meet the Super High School Level Light Musician or Super High School Level Volleyball Player next.

: “Of course not, darling. The Host Club I founded was very classy. It’s not just some escort business, you know. We offer financially compensated constructed safe areas for likeminded young adults to indulge in the enjoyment of each other’s social company as well as simulated romantic scenarios for lonely souls.” It kinda sounded like an escort business to me. “And I hope to be your personal servant and become closer than ever with you this year.” We only just met so any amount of closeness would be considered closer than ever. He winked at me and I silently removed my hand from his grasp. I’d had enough.

            Akihiko pulled me along to our next student and Hideo was made to stand next to Ms. Hashimoto. Although I couldn’t tell if it was to keep him out of trouble or to keep herself company. I immediately recognized the next student.

: “Yuudai Kuma (熊 雄大) at your service.” I wasn’t exactly thrilled about all of these boys suddenly at my “service.” But I didn’t feel uncomfortable either because I admired Yuudai Kuma. He was the— “I’m the Super High School Level Survivalist. Maybe you’ve seen me on T.V.” I’d seen all of his episodes on T.V. Clad in earthy tones and more pockets than I’d ever know what to do with, Yuudai was a real man’s man, manly-man. His skin was deeply tanned like the leathers he wore and he stood confidently.

            Yuudai was in almost all of the reality survival shows and that’s how he got his name. Even as a kid, he always won big. He was one of two big names in the industry, the other being a girl. But she mysteriously went missing before her first year of middle school. Since then, he’d dominated the competition. After he got bored of the shows, he started self-recording and doing nature survival videos on the internet. I even heard he was scheduled to have a show on a network…

: “I’m a-a big fan, Mr. Kuma! Wow, I can’t believe I’m meeting you. I’ve seen every episode you’ve ever been in. I even have a Yuudai Kuma action figure!” Was that weird to say? I was worried that might be weird to say.

: “Haha, well alright. It’s always great to meet a fan.” He held up two hands and Akihiko and I both slapped them. Ouch! It hurt a lot… his callouses nearly scratched up my hand… he was so cool. Before I could embarrass myself further, Akihiko told me we had to meet everyone else too and dragged me away by my elbow.

            Next was a girl wearing furry boots, a beanie and humongous glasses. Her hair was in a side-ponytail and the entirety of her aesthetic seemed to be “ugly.” She herself was alright looking but all of her clothes seemed to cry out against sensible fashion. And that’s when it all made sense to me.

: “Hiya, I’m Asuka Deguchi (出久地 明日香). I’m the Super High School Level Hipster.”

: “Is that really a talent though? Isn’t it just a subculture?” The look on her face said she’d heard this question before. The tone of her voice said that it only empowered her.

: “Hipsters are skilled in a wide array of talents, all of which, as my title suggests, I excel in! Plus, we signify a transition in culture at large. It’s a step beyond gyaru that revels in a harmonious mix of vintage and modern. Plus, there’s sooo much to learn from old stuff. I think it’s so neat. It’s a part of our collective history. We’re like historians! And historians love… Photography!” I was blinded by a flash as she lifted the clunky camera that was hanging at her side. “The start of our friendship should be documented. I intend on making scrapbooks for everyone for graduation. We’re a class. That’s an unbreakable bond. We’ll look back on these photos in our senior year and get all nostalgic about it.” She pulled the photo from the little slot of the camera and waved it. I wasn’t sure that’s how photographs worked, but I figured she knew what she was doing. She showed it to me.

: “And I’ll think you’ll find that black and white is very flattering. Blemishes just fade away! It’s why old people always look so good in their photos.” It wasn’t the blemishes that made me look stupid, it was the expression on my face from being taken by surprise. She showed me the picture of an old man that was inside her locket. I asked if he was an ancestor, but she said she had no idea who he was. Okay…

: “I can appreciate someone who likes to share the good times. Asuka truly is the best hipster our generation has to offer. Up high!” They both created a forceful slapping sound when their hands met. So she was the kind of girl who liked giving way-too-hard high-fives. Noted.

            Moving on, we came to a figure who was almost entirely covered from head to toe. They wore boots and gloves, a surgical mask, dark goggles, a fanny pack and overalls covered by a hoodie. Their pants’ legs were covered in splotches of paint. It looked like they bought them that way.

: “Who’s this?”

: “That’s the Super High School Level Graffitist. They’re known online as… ‘Tanuki.’” Tanuki?! Even someone like me recognized that name. Tanuki was the handle given to this guy who was an expert tagger, namely for his resemblance to one - dark goggles, a raccoon themed hoodie, and an embroidered fanny pack that seemed much more like a comical addition to his costume than a practical one (It clearly wasn't big enough to fit more than maybe two spray-paint cans). Regardless of his strange appearance, all of his work was breathtaking… Not even being much of an artsy person, I nearly cried when I’d see his wall murals get painted over. He had never once been apprehended though. Sometimes caught on film, but never in person. I was shocked to see a decided criminal at such a prestigious school.

: “I’m the Super High School Level Graffitist. My name is Natsuki Hamasaki (浜崎 夏希), but people call me Tanuki.” We just established that… I guess he only just now managed to say it himself. “Yeah. I’ve done professional design jobs making billboards and stuff too though… versatility’s key, y’know?”

: “Is it really okay for someone like you to be at this school?”

: “I mean… Hope’s Peak enrolled a gang leader for being a gang leader, right? So I think I’m okay.” The crinkles in his surgical mask shifted. I guess he was smiling.

            Akihiko pulled me along to another offender to fashion. This time a boy clad in the most god-ugly clothes I could imagine. His clothes were colored in various shades of forest green, black, teal, and that ugly lemon-lime highlighter color. The boy kept a strangely crooked stance and it seemed like his head was always cocked just slightly to the side. He wore a much more reasonably sized camera than Asuka’s around his neck with a strap designed similarly to the rest of his outfit. His black hair was disheveled and had a single messy teal streak on the side of his bangs. He wore a puffy vest and the kind of pants that unzip at the knee. They were zipped off, by the way. All of his clothes had reflective areas on them, including his one prosthetic leg.

: “Aliens. It’s gotta be aliens, right? Or maybe a collector… or a doll maker. There doesn’t seem like a more sensible solution to it, don’t you think?”

: “Huh?”

: “Everything can be explained with logic. So logically speaking, this situation has a logical solution too.”

: “And what’s the solution?”

: “We’re trapped.”

: “Well… obviously.”

: “Oh right— yo, I’m Kai Kugimiya (釘宮 怪), the Super High School Level Cryptozoologist.” Of course he was.

: “Kai has more shots of Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster and UFOs than anyone else! Really good job, man.”

: “Haha, thanks, dude. I appreciate it.”

: “Wait, you mean you have actual pictures confirming Bigfoot?!”

: “Well, my pictures are still fuzzy. They’re just less fuzzy than anyone else’s. But I hope to one day get the good shot. I wonder if it’s because these creatures aren’t from our dimension. D’ya think they have like magnetic fields surrounding them as visitors from overlapping parallel universes preventing perfect photographic captures? I haven’t figured out a solid answer yet, but I’m working on it. I’ll get a good photo of a Peculiar one day.”

: “Yeah, maybe it’s like Slenderman.”

: “Yeah… maybe.” I wasn’t sure, but he didn’t sound very impressed.

: “It’s still super incredible Kai has gotten so far in the field of cryptozoology.” Akihiko coughed a little. I looked at him and his face was even redder than when we first met. Was he okay…?

: “Nobody’s ever boasted such a collection of undoctored photos of aliens and fairies than Kai. Do you think maybe this was an abduction?” Don’t tell me he believes in this childish nonsense… I mean, the guy couldn’t even take a picture that wasn’t blurred to hell. How does such a prestigious school scout such a loser? I was starting to have second thoughts. Well, third thoughts if you counted the “being kidnapped and locked up” factor.

: “It’s a definite possibility. But I’ve been abducted before and, while Hollywood really tricks out how futuristic their technology is, it’s at least smoother looking than this. This just looks like a normal school building.” Well no duh. “Aah… a-aah! Unless this is all a simulation! Do you think?” But that’s such a stupid idea. I didn’t have the heart to say anything I thought about this guy out loud. He was just too innocent. Too pure. Too delusional to be talked sense into.

: “I don’t see why not!” Okay, he was seriously starting to cough bad now. His face had a complete layer of sweat over it. This time I pulled him aside.

: “Aki, do you need to sit this out for a little bit? You’re really working yourself up.”

: “No, no, I’m fine. I just get really pumped up easily.” Okay, but that could not be a healthy shade of crimson for a face to turn. He was as bright red as a beetroot. He sputtered a bit and I demanded he take a breather. Dejected, he accepted and sat on the floor to catch his breath. I don’t need him overworking himself and passing out because of me.

            Next was a girl. She was pretty cute. She had shoulder length orange hair and pink headphones shaped like cat ears. She also had pink striped stockings, jean booty shorts with a fur tail keychain clip and a fur-fringed jean jacket over a red plaid shirt and a single fingerless glove. She glared at me nervously as I approached and her cleft lip trembled.

: “Hello, I said,” as friendly as I could. She jumped back, shocked, and then moved back a few more steps to distance herself from me. When I tried to step toward her, she stepped back more so I took a hint. She avoided all eye contact and shied away from me. I thought I heard something like a growl or a hiss from her throat. “What’s wrong, was I too forward?” It was ridiculous to think that I had been, but I obviously offended her _somehow_.

: “N-nyo, it’s nyothing like that.” She fiddled with her hands between her thighs nervously.

: “Would you mind introducing yourself?” Apparently I was a social train wreck without my cheerleader wingman.

: “I-I’m Hiroshi Tachibana (橘 弘), the Super High School Level Furry. But you might know me by my FurAffinity account name: Yifke. I’d actually prefer if you called me that…”

: “I absolutely do not.” Aren’t furries like bestiality enthusiasts? But something was starting to click. That voice… that name… “Are you a boy?” I could see his hair stand up.

: “Of course! Idiot…” Ew… so this guy was like a professional at jerking off to cartoon horses?

: “Well what does a Super High School Level Furry do?” I was desperate for clarification, but too afraid to ask about my concerns forthright.

: “What it sounds like. I draw pictures of anthropomorphic anyimals and make costumes based on them.” The way he attached that “nya” sound onto words… it sounded more like a speech impediment than like he was doing it consciously. I wasn’t sure which was worse, truthfully. I didn’t really have much else to say and Yifke didn’t seem like he was exactly enthralled in our conversation. In fact, it looked like I was making him uncomfortable. So with few words I left him to himself.

            I ended up stumbling into another student accidentally. She stood with a strong stance and had long dark hair pulled into a loose ponytail slung over her shoulder. There was a pacifier tied into a necklace around her neck that led me to believe she might be something like a raver. But other than that, her clothing was very demure… she even wore a starched apron.

: “Hey, watch it would you?”

: “Oh, oh, I’m sorry. I was just a little nervous.”

: “It’s fine, just watch where you’re going. Try to have a little more sense of spatial awareness okay? I don’t need you stepping all over my feet.”

: “I know, I know, geez… I’m sorry.”

: “Anyway, I’m Yuuko Yoshimura (吉村 裕子). I’m the Super High School Level Mother.”

: “Huh?”

: “I’m the Super High School Level Mother.”

: “Huh?”

: “Open your ears, dammit! I’m not repeating myself again. Learn to pay attention.”

: “No, I heard you, I’m just a little surprised.”

: “Oh. Some people are. It usually wears off though. You’ll get used to it. At least you’d better.”

: “So you’re a mom. Like… you have a kid?”

: “That’s usually what being a mother entails, yeah.”

: “It’s not like, you’re a maternal figure to other students?”

: “Oh absolutely not. I have enough to take care of. You’re all young adults, you can take care of yourselves. At least I hope so.” She called us ‘all young adults’ like she wasn’t exactly the same age as me… “Anyway, I have a headache right now. I’m sorry for snapping, but do you think you could leave me alone for a while? I’m really stressed.” As I turned to leave she started massaging her temples. I didn’t see a little kid anywhere so I can only assume that was a bad sign.

            Next there was a girl with huge dreadlocked hair held back by a headband. An enormous pair of headphones covered her ears and she wore a green tracksuit with yellow geometric designs over it. The top was unzipped enough to see her undershirt. Her eyes remained closed even as I approached her.

: “…”

: “Hello.”

: “…”

: “Hello?”

: “…”

: “That’s DJ Revolution! Give her a tap on the shoulder, she’s okay with it,” Akihiko sputtered from the floor somewhere else in the room. I was glad he was at least watching over me.

            I did as I was told and she slowly opened her eyes to me and closed them again. Suddenly they flew open again and she slid her headphones down a little. Music was blaring out. No wonder she couldn’t hear me. I’m not sure what I expected, but still…

: “Hey,” she yelled at me in an otherwise surprisingly soft voice. Her volume hadn’t adjusted yet.

: “I’m Hayate Ishida. The Super High School Level Lucky Student. Who are you?” The girl I’d been informed was named DJ Revolution lowered her head a little and looked away. Now that I was thinking about it, I actually thought I recognized her.

: “I’m the Super High School Level DJ. DJ Revolution.” Looking at her more closely, it was clear who she was.

: “Oh! I know you. You’re the most requested DJ for parties and radio stations, right? Everybody wants DJ Revolution mixing for them.” Her head peeked back up at me and she smiled.

: “Yeah, that’s me. I wasn’t sure anyone would recognize me.”

: “How couldn’t I? You get requests from other countries! I actually have some of your mixes on my…” I felt for my IPod only to remember that I’d left all of my stuff at home. Dammit. My IPod, my games, my phone… I didn’t have any of it.

: “Really? I’m really glad.” She didn’t seem to have many words to share, but everything she said sounded sincere.

: “I’m sorry if I interrupted you. I know I don’t like it when people try to talk to me when I have my earbuds in.”

: “You’re good. I just needed something to help me calm down. Music is my therapy. I’ve never lived in a silent world… and I don’t want to start.”

: “What are you listening to?”

: “It’s a song by MonoLoid.”

: “Alright… well I’ll let you get back to it.” She smiled and told me to “come again.” As I was walking away, a student approached _me_ for the first time.

: “Aren’t you going to talk to me?” Although she pouted, her voice was cheerful and sounded like ringing bells. Her entire outfit was constructed of powder blue and baby pink Sweet Lolita fashion. She wore a giant puffy dress with more frills than I could have ever counted in a lifetime. On her ears she wore two halves of a split heart as earrings and on the sides of her head were two particularly frilly bows which held her pink hair in twin drill ringlets. She stared through me with eyes that were yellowish orange like limpid piss. They seemingly broke the harmonious color scheme she had going.

: “I was— eventually,” I managed to spit out of my mouth ungracefully.

: “That’s okay!! I decided to take initiative and introduce myself~. It really makes me stand out from the others, huuh? I’ll make my own way into the plot. ^u^” I don’t know how she spoke a tilde or an emoji… but her abilities to do so were terrifying.

: “Okay… then who are you?”

: “I am Merisu Komaru da~☆ (小丸 メリスー)! Or Komaru Merisu-chan, if you prefer. I’m the Super High School Level Perfection. Hajimemashite!”

: “Super High School Level Perfection? What does that mean?”

: “Ohoho, it means I am perfect in every way.” Somehow I doubt that’s possible… “You may not realize this now, but I think that our meeting is a Fateful Encounter.” She took my hands in hers and continued to stare into me with her yellow eyes. “It is very nice to meet you, Hayate. I hope we can become bestest tomodachi, kya~!” She left me to stand next to Ms. Hashimoto… but not soon enough.

            I kept my pace toward another student hoping that Merisu was the only one of her kind in the lot. The last boy to meet had silver hair, half of which was inexplicably styled upward and the other half was let down. Although his clothes looked pretty normal, he was decorated in golden accessories and as many belts and zippers as Yuudai had pockets.

: “I am the great Shunsuke Mutou (武藤 俊介)— Super High School Level Duelist. An honor to meet you.” His name sounded just barely familiar but I couldn’t place where I’d heard it. But it was so cool that he was a duelist! I couldn’t help wonder what medium he had expertise in. Let’s see… on his back was something long and narrow. Was he a fencer? Maybe he was into kendo and that was his shinai. Then I noticed a pouch strapped to his thigh. Maybe he kept shuriken in there. He also had an apparatus on his arm. It looked like some kind of blade that ran along the edge of his forearm. His other arm looked like it was scarred up. God, I was getting jittery with excitement. Maybe he was a ninja. At last I couldn’t take any more anticipation.

: “What kind of dueling do you do?” I asked, trying my best to keep my voice from cracking.

: “The most high-risk type,” he said with a sly smirk. I watched as he fluidly reached for his thigh pouch. He presented me with a hand of rectangles in shiny casings. Playing cards? Oh, maybe they’re like razor sharp and if he throws one at a wall it’ll stick inside. It was like a ploy, right? He was just really eccentric. Right?

: “This is my Geno Jack card. I camped outside for an entire week waiting for its release” A week?! Isn’t that extensive?

: “You duel card games? But your arm…” Shunsuke presented me another card. It looked like a block of color with muscles drawn on it.

: “Yes, I suffered greatly in my endeavor to tame this god. But at last, he conceded to me. That girl really wanted it too! But I wrestled with her over the bin. Her nails might have taken parts of my arm but I walked away with control of the Devil Dog. These scars are my trophy of success. Isn't it really cool? It's a limited edition holofoil. I'm not really big on the fancy prints, but you can't deny that it really adds a special something to this one.” Shouldn’t the card be your trophy of success? And no matter what way I look at it, those scars should have healed by now!

: “And on your back…?”

: “That’s my officially licensed card mat! For more formal duels when I’m not using this.” He lifted the weighty piece of plastic on his arm. Oh… I understood now.

            That’s when it hit me. I knew why his name was so familiar. This guy was always the winner of game tournaments. Sometimes he participated in turn-based strategy video game tournaments, but he mostly controlled the card game scene. This guy was a monster— in a figurative sense. He never played safe and was always on the offensive. When he won it was always by the most points he could squeeze out. Even if he could defeat you that turn, he’d keep the game going until he had a setup to win by the largest margin possible. Some conventions had actually banned him because it was unfair to let him participate in the tournament with others. I was deeply disappointed he wasn’t a trained fighter, but that was still pretty cool I guess. Lame, but I couldn’t say I was never interested in card games. But I also wasn’t ever really into competitive gameplay, so I didn’t really care that much that way either.

: “But all that gold?” I assumed they were his rewards from slaying greedy dukes, or rich princes on their wedding nights.

: “These are relics from the newest series I’ve become enraptured with! They hold great power.” He held his pendant in front of me so I could see the details. He was also wearing a golden bracelet with similar designs. “I was going to buy the official accessories from the creators. But those trinkets were just cheaply-made overly-expensive garbage. The colors were off and the designs were sloppy at best, inaccurate at worst. So I made my own. They’re not real gold, of course, but it’s all real metal unlike the ‘official’ merchandise.” He offered to let me stroke the pendant so that I’d be blessed by its curse. I didn’t think that made any sense technically speaking and I declined. He said the offer was open any time.

            Finally there was one last student to meet. She had been watching me through furrowed brows and they didn’t ease as I approached. Her hair was a dark burgundy and she had red eyes behind thick glasses. She wore a matching silk skirt and blouse set that were black with beautiful silver floral designs. She looked important like a CEO. Or a secretary. Or a CEO’s secretary. She did not offer to introduce herself first so I did.

: “I am Rin Hanazawa (花沢 凛). I am the Super High School Level Critic. The pleasure is yours.” Yikes… I’d heard of this girl too.

: “You’re the girl that can bankrupt a company just by giving it a bad review.”

: “I don’t ‘just give’ reviews. They’re earned. You reap what you sow. If companies didn’t want to be exposed for the trash they are then they should try harder. I’ll give a good review when I finally find something deserving of it. And right now,” she said, turning on her heel to look at a camera attached to the ceiling. “I am highly dissatisfied with my experience at this school. I’d like an explanation.” The camera didn’t offer anything by means of a response so she turned and scoffed. “Incredible. This place is on its way for a very generous two star rating.” Rin addressed me once again. “Can you imagine the beautiful irony? This school graduating me, ensuring my success. And then it’s my word that closes it down.” I wasn’t sure that the emotion on her face could be classified as “giddiness,” but it seemed to be the closest thing to the emotion she seemed capable of expressing.

            That was everyone. All fourteen of us. As soon as Rin and I finished up and I returned to Akihiko, that voice from before filled the school with its awful voice again.

: “Ummm… are you guys done with the exposition yet? I’m getting really bored so I think it’s about time we get to the part everyone’s looking forward to. Aha-ahem. All new students— puh- _lease_ report to the gymnasium immediately for your entrance ceremony! It’s gonna be a doozy. And try not to drag your feet, alright? I know you all just met and you wanna make friends, but there’ll be plenty of time for that during the rest of this semester. You have to do _something_ to make your Free Time eventful, right? Anyhoo, I’ll be waiting.”

            We all looked at each other worriedly. Apparently the message before this one wasn’t the first. It had been making announcements since the first student woke up. Not wanting to “drag our feet,” we bustled out the door. I guess we should have been more cautious in retrospect, but we were already trapped in this school. There wasn’t really much to gain by being hesitant. So as a group led by Ms. Hashimoto, talking among ourselves, theorizing among ourselves, we made our way to the gymnasium. Which is when the events of our peculiar School Life really shifted into gear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because I am dealing with such a huge cast and everything that is said and who said it is so important to DanganRonpa, I have written the story like a script. Although all the lines are prefaced with the name of the character that says the line, it will still be narrated normally. I just could not possibly afford to include X said, Y asked, Z claimed after EVERY SINGLE LINE.  
>   
> Additionally, some things might seem very American-centric (such as a cheerleader instead of a more likely ouendan, hipsters, and a, what I can only assume is, culturally divergent reception to a teen mom) and that is because... I am American. The story takes place in Japan and I have done my best to remain as culturally accurate as possible but... hey it's anime, anything goes.  
>   
> *EDIT: This is not to say, however, that I will not make attempts at accuracy. But one cannot possibly expect me to be knowledgeable of all of the caveats and eras of Japanese media and culture. It is for this reason there will not be as many comprehensive Japanese folk lore references or famous older celebrities (as Sonia might be prone to acknowledge). The characters' names are actually not perfect, finalized versions of what I'd like for them, but a majority of them I ruled "close enough" to use. If you have any advice on editing for media and culture, please feel free to contribute.  
>   
> I'll also include a "the making of" segment after each death/at the very end to explain the inspiration behind each character (something I'm sure is mandatory for such things as "Merisu" and "Super High School Level Furry.")  
> also fangs 2 izzy


	5. Monokuma Theater 2

            Gosh, I really don’t wanna be “that guy,” but don’t you find Hope’s Peak’s success policy hi-ho-larious? The kids they enroll are already the best in their field and already successful in life. Yet Hope’s Peak promises that graduating from their school will make them successful in life. As if! If anything it’s the students who give the school its credibility, not the other way around.

            And attaching them with a childish title like “Super High School Level Whatever?” They’re labeled as nothing but a single aspect of themselves for the rest of their life. What if they decide to move on to different things later on? Too bad! You’re typecast! Please see the director for your paycheck, Mr. Depp, thank! You! Very! Much! But hey, what do I know? Bears don’t have any concept of politics.

            At least now the school is under new management.


	6. Chapter 1: If it’s Not Broken, Don’t Fix It (Continued)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (Animal death mention in Chapter Summary)  
> We are introduced to the huggably cuddly Monokuma-chan. I wonder what cute tricks Monokuma-chan has up his sleeves? Let's watch.  
> Isn't that cute? He's petting a bunny. Monokuma-chan and usa-chan are best friends. Oh no... he's taking out an ax. Where did you get that ax, Monokuma-chan?  
> \--Later--  
> Monokuma-chan is feeling extra lucky today thanks to his brand new lucky rabbit's foot.

            We all arrived in the gymnasium to find that it too was in a similar state of disrepair to the rest of the school. While it wasn’t a complete wreck, the boards looked like they had aged and bore plant growth between the cracks. We stood in confusion when suddenly the podium on the stage was knocked over by a figure jumping up from behind it. It landed on its butt before us. It was a… teddy bear? A black and white teddy bear with a huge grin on half of its face. We heard the voice again, this time coming from right in front of us.  
: “Upupupupu… wow, it sure is grrreat to be back. Now let’s see what we’ve got here.” The bear stood up and started inspecting us.  
: “Eek! It moves!”  
: “P-p-possession! It’s— it’s possession! Somebody get some salt!”  
: “It looks too small to be a costume…”  
: “Hey, I’m not some toy! I’m state of the art technology and loving craftsmanship combined into one very charismatic package. Two sides of a whole brain’s genius.”  
: “Excuse me. You. Yes, you. What the hell are you?”  
: “Me? Don’t tell me you guys don’t recognize me. I’m only the world’s most beloved mascot! I’m also the headmaster of this school. I’m Monokuma!”  
: “The headmaster is a stuffed animal?”

: “He absolutely is _not_.”  
: “I’m not what? Despair-inducingly cuddly? I think you’ll find a very large amount of people will beg to differ. Studies have proven that I’m exponentially cuter than the average bear.”  
: “You are not the headmaster. The headmaster is Jin Kirigiri.”  
: “That old news? Nah, I had to let him go.”  
: “What… what does that mean?”  
: “The old man’s been decommissioned.”  
: “Is this a joke? Some kind of new hazing program for new classes? Because I don’t appreciate it, Mr. Kirigiri.”  
: “Grrah! I told you, it’s Monokuma! Get it memorized, alright? I’m not a toy and this isn’t a joke. I’m Monokuma, the headmaster of Hope’s Peak Academy and this is all oh-so real. It’s too real, actually. It’s almost staggering just how real this actually is. Tell me— I’m dyin’ to know— is reality everything you chalked it up to be?”  
: “This is all just a prank, right?”  
: “Prank? You wound me… I would never dream of being less than serious about this game of ours. It’s very special, you know.”  
: “Game? What do you mean?”  
: “Yeah, would you mind explaining why we’re here exactly? And why all the exits are sealed off?”  
: “Ooh, you guys know how to get down to business. I like it. It’s enough of the exposition, right? Time to get down to the reason you’re all here to begin with. Shucks, and here I am at a complete loss for words. Let’s see here…” The bear that called itself Monokuma pulled out some index cards from… somewhere and started flipping through them frantically. He was so short though that we could all see that they were completely blank.  
: “Hey there, howdy, hello! Welcome new students of Hope’s Peak Academy. I’m your troublingly huggable headmaster, Monokuma. But there are some special circumstances surrounding your first year here. You’re stuck here! Forever!” Monokuma laughed.  
: “Forever? Why can’t we leave?”  
: “Because you all get the privilege of participating in my little game just for you guys.”  
: “Game?”  
: “That’s right! Game! You kids… you really choke me up, you know that? You’re the beacons of hope for our generation. You’ll bond… create friendships… romances… rivalries. And you’ll come together to pave a new road for humanity. It… it makes me… sick! It’s disgusting! Completely revolting.” Monokuma scattered his note cards and kicked at the air. What a child.  
: “What’s your point? I’m guessing there’s a point to all this.”  
: “From this point onward you’re all stuck in this school indefinitely. For as long as you all live the school inside these walls is all you’ll know.”  
: “But surely there must be some way to leave?”  
: “Hey, did you read my script? It just so happens there is! I’m a nice guy, really I am. I wouldn’t dream of just trapping you all here. You _are_ high schoolers though, right? Don’t tell me you’re getting homesick and wanna leave just after your entrance ceremony. You’re not babies anymore!”  
: “The _point_.”  
: “Right, right. I’ve constructed a special rule. It’s called the Graduation Rule. I bet you’re all dying to find out what this rule is that’ll allow you all to leave so I’ll go ahead and explain it! From now on, you’re all forced to live inside of this school for the rest of your lives in peace.”  
: “You already said that.”  
: “Shuh-shush! I’m getting there, four-eyes. But it’s possible for someone to leave. If they dare to disrupt your luxurious communal life here.”  
: “What does that mean?”  
: “If you want to leave, all you have to do— now this is very simple, I can’t stress that enough— is kill someone.”  
: “Kill?”  
: “This is one of those murderporns you can only find on the deep web! Please don’t torture us…”  
: “Aah! How do _you_ know about those?”  
: “I’m not gonna torture anybody! You’re all going to be the ones killing each other.”  
: “Nobody’s killing anyone.”  
: “Sure, you say that now. They always say that. And they always end up killing anyway. You can’t fight against despair. Anyway, it really doesn’t matter how you kill each other, really. Go buck wild! But-but-but-but-buuut! And this is very important: there are some rules. As much as I’d love a Battle Royale throwdown, that’s not the business I’m in right now. It was fun, but it lacks a certain sense of tact and dignity I feel.”  
: “…”  
: “You have to do it without getting caught. So don’t just start slaughtering each other right now. If— or should I say ‘when—’ one of you decides to kill another, there will be a brief period of investigation for you to inspect the school at large in search for clues. Following this investigation period there will be a class trial. If the culprit is properly sussed, then they will receive a punishment for their crimes. If not, however, they get to leave! It’s simple, see? I told you it was simple! God, it’s nearly despair-inducing how simple this plot is! Grr… it really fires me up… can we really have an entire series based off this premise? Anyway, we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. And we _will_ come to it. I’ll explain it in more detail then.”  
: “That is _enough_! I don’t know what you’re trying to pull here, but I’m sick of it. Now I’m only going to ask this one last time: Where. Is. Headmaster Kirigiri?”  
: “Gya! So scary… No… not you. It’s scary that you really think you can sound threatening! You’re in no position to threaten me, Mizuki.” As he said that, guns attached to the ceiling pointed toward her. Ms. Hashimoto recoiled.  
: “As I _said_ , but you were all too deaf and stupid to pay attention: he’s _gone_. Simple as simple as that can get! Capisce?”  
: “Where is he?”  
: “I thought you were only gonna ask that once? OshKosh B’oh-my-gosh, that’s a heavy question… I guess it depends on who you ask. Some people would say in a continuous loop of being and not being. Some would say he’s a flower outside. Some would say he’s all of us. Others would say he simply… stopped existing altogether.”  
: “You couldn’t possibly mean…?”  
: “Oh but I _do_! He’s dead and gone! Like some old has-been baseball player, he’s outta here!” Monokuma gave a boisterous laugh. “I took care of him personally. Well. Not personally. It was a different me, but it was still me. That was like in a past life. But rest assured, I took care of him. Some say the dead body of the school’s old headmaster is hidden somewhere inside this very school… Kya! Do you think it’s true? I’m shaking with fear… I hope he doesn’t come back and haunt me! Huh?” Apparently forgetting she had guns aimed at her, Ms. Hashimoto picked up Monokuma.  
: “I’m done with these games, goddammit! Who are you? What are you trying to prove?” She shook his little body.  
: “Yikes, I wish you hadn’t done that… why does this always happen? And so soon…” Ms. Hashimoto started to say something, but she was interrupted by a loud beeping.  
: “Huh?” The beeping was slowly starting to get louder and faster.  
: “Get rid of it!”  
Obeying instantly, Ms. Hashimoto tossed it away from her and at me. I caught it and started panicking. I threw it away too. The Super High School Level Furry, Yifke, caught it and held Monokuma as far away from him as possible. Tanuki snatched it from his hands and threw it to Akihiko who caught the bear doll and threw it as hard as possible into the air.  
: “Sayonara…” After only a few seconds of airtime, it exploded. We all gasped. Akihiko, impressed with himself and shocked at what would have happened if he got it a few seconds later, looked at Tanuki. Tanuki gave him a thumbs up.  
: “At least… at least we got rid of that teddy bear…”  
: “Nope!” We all turned to look at where Monokuma had appeared the first time and there was a fresh new model standing there. “You can’t get rid of me just like that! There’s a whole bunch of spares lying in wait. I just have to switch my soul to another shell and presto! But try not to make a habit out of this, alright? I _am_ in limited supply at the moment. That doesn’t mean you can just keep this up though, alright? If you do this again I’ll just kill you for breaking the rules and assaulting your headmaster. You can’t just go attacking me as you like. I'm a bear, not an octopus and I only have a huge grin on _one_ side of my face!” He turned to Ms. Hashimoto who was limp and had her mouth hanging open. “That’s your one and only warning shot, okay? Let you all know I mean business. Someone’s always gotta be an example.”  
: “You… exploded… you tried to kill me…”  
: “It’s just self-defense! I can see you all were still doubting me, though. Yes, as you can see, I was deadly serious before. This is your life know. This is your _lives_ now. Kill or be killed. Stay here forever or graduate and get to leave. Those are your only options. There is no alternative. There is no middle path. Those are my conditions.”  
: “Exploded…”  
: “There’s no way.”  
: “A deadly school life…”  
: “Well. I can see you’re all going to need a moment to absorb all of this information. Why don’t you go ahead and explore the school? You’ll see just how airtight everything is and maybe then you’ll understand the scope of your situation and come back with a newfound respect for my game. I have something else to take care of.”  
: “What’s that?”  
: “You’ll see. Sayonara, you bastards.”


	7. Monokuma Theater 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> NOTE: Monokuma's views are his own and do not necessarily represent those of Strigentine. For that matter, it is also advised you do not follow any of his advice and practice safety whenever possible. Do not trust the bear. This has been a Public Service Announcement.

            I wonder. Something’s really been tickling my brain. Just really digging around in my gray matter. Is it true that cool guys don't look at explosions? Isn't it a lot cooler to look at them head on? Or is that just propaganda perpetrated to avoid the dangers of looking at an explosion? Well I say real cool guys, real heroes laugh at danger! Stare shrapnel in the face. Wear baggy clothes while you're cooking. Take a risk and leave the oven on with your door unlocked overnight. I don't care. But onto more serious business.

            I’m not doing this for my health, y’know. Have you ever heard of a living art installment? Call it a tribute. I’m not even myself anymore! No, I’ve undergone a personality reassignment. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still the Monokuma you all idolize, but this gig is under new management. Don’t say I never switched the formula up for you bastards! I slave over a hot monitor to get the best results. Nothing is too grueling for the ones I love most. Oh, did you think I meant you all? Upupu… How misled can you be…?


	8. Chapter 1: If it’s Not Broken, Don’t Fix It (Continued)

            Once Monokuma disappeared we started making plans. Akihiko, DJ Revolution and I would explore the fifth floor. Hideo, Merisu and a very shaken Ms. Hashimoto took the fourth floor. Yifke, Rin and Natsuki covered the third floor. Yuudai, Yuuko and Shunsuke had the second floor. Kai and Asuka were left to explore the first floor. When we were done with our inspections we met up in the cafeteria on the first floor.

            The fifth floor, we explained, was mostly restricted. There was a huge garden we were forbidden from entering by Monokuma and a science lab we also were not allowed to enter. The only room aside from the average classrooms we could enter was the dojo which featured an archery range. There was one classroom on the fifth floor we also weren’t allowed entry to, however. Monokuma explained we could enter it eventually just not now.

            The fourth floor had a chemistry lab, a music room, the headmaster’s office and a faculty lounge. Ms. Hashimoto didn’t allow anyone to search the latter two rooms and investigated them herself with the others watching from the door. There was nothing in them except for some dead flowers. There was a data processing room that Monokuma also forbade entry to.

            The third floor, much to the artists’ excitement, had an art room with a supply closet, a science lab and a recreational room but very little by means of clues to our imprisonment. There was an abundance of classical art modified to look like Monokuma though, Rin noted bitterly.

            The second floor had a library with a back room and a pool nobody was actually allowed to enter yet because it had been drained. Monokuma promised that although there were many locked rooms they’d all be opened sooner or later, it was just a matter of our safety. Yeah right…

            The only ones who had anything to report were Kai and Asuka who were shaking by the time we all returned to share our information.

: “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

: “Aaaah! We did!” It was a scream not of fear, but excitement. Kai showed us a picture he had taken with Asuka while they were searching the kitchen. Apparently they caught something moving out of the corner of their eyes and Kai reflexively snapped a shot of it on its way out the door. Surely enough, there was a pale blue blur that was roughly human shaped on the picture. It looked like a sheet ghost… these guys couldn’t possibly be serious about this.

: “Isn’t it so cool! We actually saw a ghost.”

: “Do you guys… think it’s the ghost of the dead headmaster?” Ms. Hashimoto lurched at the mention of Headmaster Kirigiri but didn’t say anything.

: “There’s no such thing as ghosts… please tell me you morons found more than just this?” They had apparently searched the first part of the first floor where we’d all woken up and had gotten as far as the cafeteria where they’d seen the “ghost” in the kitchen and spent the rest of the investigative period being excited over the “ghost.”

: “You know,” Ms. Hashimoto told us, “I had classes with the Super High School Level Ghost.” Not paying much attention to this, we spread out to check out the other wing of the first floor. In the wing with the gymnasium and the entry hall we had already noted there were a handful of classrooms, an audio-visual room, and an infirmary that was locked.

            Of note there was only a laundry room, a sauna and the cafeteria. There were some stairs next to the cafeteria but the floor they led to was destroyed beyond navigation. It looked like it only led to spare dorms. More interestingly, however, were the dorms on the first floor. We found a looping hallway full of doors with our names and pictures on them. Monokuma showed up again and announced that these dorms were where we were going to be living until the end of our days. We regrouped in the cafeteria.

: “Did anyone notice anything that looked like a way out? Any rusted window panels we could remove?”

: “None. They’re all attached tight.”

: “This school is a wreck but I couldn’t find anything that seemed exploitable as an exit.”

: “I checked the computers in the teacher’s lounge but none of them work. Does everyone have their phones?” Pretty much everyone except for me had their phones on them and checked them. Among all of us who had their phones, there was no reception or Wi-Fi available. All of the clocks had been set to a little after midnight January 1st, 2000, obviously not today. But with no connectivity, nobody could connect to a satellite and find out what day it was. Pretty much everything had been wiped too. All messages, call logs, pictures, contacts and apps had been deleted. We were all left completely in the dark as to what was going on. We weren’t even sure what time it was. Suddenly, _he_ showed up again.

: “Boy, I hope you’re not too mad at me. After all, I had to take certain precautions for the sake of safety and fairness. You’ll find that any electronic devices you’ve brought have been largely wiped. Some things, such as music players, still have files on them, however. I told you, I’m a nice guy. I’m fair. I’m not here to ground you or anything, just keep you here for life. Of course, if you’d like to get your files back…” Monokuma produced a plastic baggy full of small pieces of plastic. “I do have all of these SIM cards and memory sticks for one lucky graduate. All you have to do is kill someone.”

: “Nobody’s killing anyone for something like that.”

: “But I had important pictures on there!”

: “Eek! Should we restrain him? He just confessed he’d kill for those things!”

: “What? No! That’s not what I meant…”

 : “You guys really are committed to this ‘not killing anyone’ thing, huh…? Aw… well, I guess I can still put these in the microwave and post it on the internet.” He was sulking.

: “The hell you will! I have important contacts on that. Hand them over immediately.”

: “What are you gonna do? Try and take them from me? I’ll blow your arm off! By the way, I nearly forgot, but I have something to give all of you.” Monokuma presented a box full of what looked like smart phones.

: “I’m so embarrassed. I must be rusty… I’ve been waiting for so long, y’know? I’ve been inactive for so long I just… Ooh, ooh, oo-ooh!” Monokuma took a few boxing swings in the air to show his energy. “Hoo-ah! It feels good to be back! I thought this series was dead for sure.”

: “These are student handbooks, right?”

: “Sooo right! These babies hold all sorts of information, including the rules. It’s a good thing I remembered to hand them out. Can you imagine if someone broke an important rule and pulled an ex post facto technicality on me? I’d be black and white and red all over. Both sides of me would be red! Can you imagine that? A red Monokuma? It’s unthinkable. Anyway. They can take pictures too. You’ll find these handy during the investigative period when we get there. There is also a chat feature, but it’s all linked to the same chatroom so don’t think about saying anything naughty you don’t want the rest of your class to hear! There’s one for each of you! Please, just hand in your phones in exchange for your student handbook. Uniformity looks so nice, doesn’t it?”

            Everyone lined up and handed in their cellphones for the student handbook. They figured their phones weren’t exactly doing them any favors as they were and Monokuma explained that his request that they do so was merely a formality. There wasn’t really a choice to be made. I don’t’ really see why he didn’t just take them before we woke up. Maybe it was so there was the illusion of compliance. Like we actually had some level of autonomy. Everyone handed in their cellphones that is… except for me. When I didn’t step forward and offer up my phone, Monokuma came over to me and jostled the tub of plastic and metal.

: “I don’t have one.”

:  “Gh-?! In… inconceivable! Kids in your generation are constantly glued to your phones! With your social media and augmented reality video games… Don’t lie to me, Hayate!”

: “A few hours ago wasn’t it ‘our generation?’ Or did I hear you wrong?”

: “Honest, I don’t have one. I accidentally forgot it at home when I got picked up.” We had all discussed our memories prior to waking up in the school. They coincided for the most part. We were greeted by a black car bearing the Hope’s Peak crest and then everything faded away. “You should know if you took everyone’s memory cards.”

: “Ohh… I just assumed you were keeping it in your sock or something…”

: “Then… why didn’t you just check?”

: “What do I look like?! Some kind of deranged pervert? It’s super weird to check peoples’ socks! But this… oh, it’s just rich! Some ‘Super High School Level Luck,’ there! Gyahahahaha! Fine, fine. I guess I have no choice but to believe you. But so help me, if I see you with your phone… Ooh, there’ll be _bear_ to pay!”

: “Boo.”

: “But of course, I _will_ be needing collateral. This is a bear-eat-bear world, y’know! You can’t get something for nothing.”

: “Fine, what do you want? I don’t have any other electronics or my ID card either.”

: “You can pay me back later. I’ll come to collect sometime later. Just take your damned student handbook for now, okay?” Monokuma handed me the little black rectangle, shuffled his tub of confiscated phones to admire his bounty and waddled away. He turned back to look at us. “By the way,” he said. “In a few hours it’ll be nighttime. You won’t be allowed in the cafeteria at that point. So eat while you can and get out. I don’t want to have to exterminate an entire cafeteria’s worth of students because you all loitered around too long.” And with that, he was gone.

: “So what should we do now?”

: “It’s unbelievable to think considering we just woke up but… I’m _exhausted_.”

: “Yeah… I’m so sleepy.”

: “It must be stress. We should probably just go to our rooms to relax.”

: “Excellent idea, mon cœur. Do I have any volunteers to nap with me? My physique may appear lean at first, but rest assured I’m plenty soft.”

: “There will be none of that on my watch.”

: “It was only an offer to sleep!” He sounded so… disheartened. Don’t worry, man. I don’t think anybody would have taken you up on that offer anyway. Not in a situation where we’re all doubting each other like this. That’s just advertising you’re up to something.

: “You’ll all be sleeping in your own rooms, understood? And I recommend staying inside them at night. Whenever that is…”

: “When night comes, if it’s alright with you, Ms. Hashimoto, I’m going to patrol the halls. I’ll try to see if there’s something we missed to help us get out of here. Or at least figure out what’s going on.”

: “I wish you wouldn’t, but… I think you’re strong enough to take care of yourself. Having someone on guard is probably a wise idea. Just promise you’ll be careful, okay?”

: “Of course.”

            Spent, we all spread to the halls outside the cafeteria and found our rooms. We waved a supposed goodnight to each other and entered our rooms. I don’t think it was all done as professionally as Monokuma had expected, but my room was nice enough. He tried to talk up our life here as luxurious, but seemed to neglect to even reference how dilapidated the school actually was. And speak of the devil, Monokuma was suddenly in my room. How did he do that?

: “Hello, Hayate!”

: “Is it time to pay you for the student handbook? You’re not going to kill me right?”

: “No! I’ve told you, I’m not going to kill anyone who doesn’t break the rules. You’re all going to do the killing! I just came here to tell you a little something. See, I left notes for all the other students, but your room is something of a special case.”

: “What, is it trapped? Did you put bugs in my bed?”

: “Let me talk, dammit!” Monokuma began showing me around my room. “Ta-da! This is where you’ll be living for the rest of your life. Never again will you know the comfort of your own bed.”

: “Did you just come to taunt me?”

: “Well no, not _just_ to taunt you.” Monokuma showed me the desk behind my bed. “These used to have knitting supplies and tools in them, but it just got too messy. Nobody ever ended up using them. And I wouldn’t call myself a feminist bear, but the arrangement was altogether sexist. It’s just messy. Furthermore, the complete set wasn’t here after a complication, so I just decided to forego the entire process. If you feel the urge to knit or build something or crack someone’s skull open or gouge their eyes out, please refer to the rec. room or art class. Anyways, see ya!” Monokuma started to leave but I called out for him.

: “Wait! You said my room was a special case?”

: “Oh right, that’s why I came here. Maybe I should have some honey after this to strengthen my mind. Yeah, you see, the showers all turn off at night, right? I can’t have you all washing away evidence. Additionally, some of the bathrooms had locks, but I got rid of those too.”

: “Why would you do that?”

: “Convenience. Look, your rooms are all soundproof, have unpickable locks, and door bells, I think you can all deal without locks on your bathrooms, alright? It created an imbalance. And besides, there’s no way something like that would be relevant ever again. If you really don’t want to get murdered in the bathroom, then don’t let a murderer in your room.”

: “So what’s so special about my room? Does it have a lock?”

: “No. Kind of. Well see— this em-bear-asses me as your headmaster, but your bathroom door doesn’t really fit the frame quite right. So it kinda gets stuck. So when you go to open it, you gotta jiggle it a little and lift up.”

: “This school is falling apart and you’re embarrassed about a door not fitting properly?”

: “That’s because it’s old. It’s been around for a long time! Think of the overgrowth as proof of Ivy League material. It’s a sign of a good school. It’s got character.”

: “You sound like a dad who put IKEA furniture together wrong because he refused to hire someone to do it for him…”

: “Whatever! The point is, your door’s busted.”

: “Is the door not fitting a clue to something? Is it a door to something else?”

: “No, it’s just a normal door! It was bad design. Upupupu, you’re so unlucky. You forgot your phone _and_ you have the only busted bathroom door.”

: “You assigned these rooms to us though, didn’t you? You gave me the busted door.”

: “Gy-? Ah! Rnnngh. I don’t have to stay around and get insulted by you. I’m going to go check on the other students and see how they are. I recommend you take a look at the rules. Now that you all have your handbooks I won’t take ‘I didn’t know’ as an answer.” With that, Monokuma relinquished my peace back to me. I did as he said and booted up the handbook to look at the rules.

  * Rule 1: All students will live a communal life together inside the school with no time limit. Leaving the school is considered truancy and is prohibited.
  * Rule 2: “Nighttime” is between 10 PM and 7 AM. Some areas are forbidden during nighttime, so please exercise caution.
  * Rule 3: Intentionally sleeping anywhere other than the dormitories is considered sleeping in class and will be punished accordingly.
  * Rule 4: With minimal restrictions, you are free to explore Hope’s Peak Academy at your discretion.
  * Rule 5: Violence against Headmaster Monokuma is strictly prohibited, as is the destruction of surveillance cameras or other school property.
  * Rule 6: Anyone who kills a fellow communal resident will become the “culprit” and will graduate unless discovered.
  * Rule 7: Once a murder takes place, a class trial will begin shortly after a brief investigative period. Participation is mandatory.
  * Rule 8: Additional school regulations may be added as necessary at Headmaster Monokuma’s discretion.



            There wasn’t much to say about them. There were eight rules. They were all bullshit. That’s about all there was to say on the subject. I relaxed on my bed for a few moments trying my best to take in everything that was happening when I realized I hadn’t eaten all day. My stomach was grumbling and eventually, presumably soon, the cafeteria was going to be locked because of the nighttime rule. I got out of bed and dragged myself to the door. Lost in my thoughts, I wandered out into the hall toward the cafeteria. When suddenly…

: “Oof!” I collided with someone. They were looking down and didn’t look at me. Their pale face… and sunken eyes… could it be a— a ghost? Or a corpse? It looked up at me and we both yelled at the same time. Only it didn’t attack me. In fact, it looked a lot more terrified than I was.

: “Wh-wh-who— who are you? What do you want?” He lifted a handheld game console in front of his face to shield himself from me.

: “Who are _you_?” I thought I’d already met everyone involved in this crazy school life. This guy was highly suspicious.

: “I-I’m Tatsuhiro Sakurasou (桜草 達広). I was told I’m trapped in here. Do you know how to get out?” Tatsuhiro Sakurasou was a sickly looking piece of work. Underneath of a Hope’s Peak issue blanket, his hair was a messy, matted disaster like he’d never brushed it before in his life. He wore a stained white A-shirt, splotchy black sweatpants that looked like they’d lost a few fights against bleach in the washer, and he was barefoot. His eyes looked sunken and had pronounced bluish bags under them. His body was incredibly spindly, an apparent aftereffect of malnutrition. His face also had small patches of hair growth. He probably hadn’t shaved for a few days.

: “I don’t. The bear told us we were all stuck here too. The rest of us here are Hope’s Peak students, are you?”

: “Y-yeah… I mean, yes. I’m the S-super High School Level Hikikomori…”

: “How do you get a title like that?”

: “I was scouted because of how good of a homeschooled student I was.” Slowly, he started lowering his game. “Because I never leave my house. But I can’t attend a private school _and_ be a homeschooler… So I guess I was scouted as a homeschooler but given the title of Hikikomori. They’re k-kind of the s-same thing, I guess… I really wanna go home… I’m having a panic attack.”

: “We’re all freaking out, it’s okay. Why weren’t you at the entrance ceremony? I thought all of the students had to be there.”

: “M-monokuma came to me in my room. He told me that a loser like me couldn’t be expected to join everyone else… He gave me the rundown of the rules, though. He also gave me this.” Tatsuhiro pulled out the student handbook from his sweatpants pocket and showed it to me. The way he held it made it seem like he’d never shown something to someone else before. Which actually might have been the case. He kind of held it like a police badge, right up in my face.

: “I can see it, I can see it.”

: “Oh, s-sorry…” He put it back into his pocket. Suddenly Monokuma showed up again.

: “Thaaat’s right! I figured it would be in bad taste of talent to force a professional hikikomori to come out and socialize. I told you before: I’m a nice guy.” Tatsuhiro recoiled from the voice and held his sheet around him like a vampire cape.

: “Y-you!”

: “Me! I just wanted to come along and congratulate Hayate on meeting our super, ultra-secret _fifteenth student_. He has a find-chance of two out of every eighty in his series. I wasn’t sure if anyone would ever find a lowlife like you! Of course you did almost get caught earlier, didn’t you? Valid strategy, though, I have to admit. Do you have any other l33t pro-tips to share with us, Tatsuhiro?”

: “Did you say he was almost caught earlier? So someone else saw him?” Suddenly I remembered the ridiculous case of the “ghost picture” from before. “Do you mean that was him in the picture Kai and Asuka took?”

: “Ding-ding-ding! Hayate is already hot on the case solving. You should be fun to have around for this game! Yes, the supposed mystery ghost from earlier was in fact nothing more than our disgustingly ghoulish Tatsuhiro.” Tatsuhiro whimpered a little bit.

: “Hey, leave him alone!”

: “Oh? Is he your boyfriend? Is there a new ship on the horizon already? I didn’t think you were into that sort of thing, Hayate. Boy, this sure is a huge Fruit’s Basket! Gyahahaha!” Uh…

: “N-no…”

: “You shouldn’t attack weak people.” I returned my focus to my newest classmate. “But if you were out earlier, why didn’t you come greet us? Why’d you run away?”

: “I d-don’t like people… socialization scares me. That’s part of why I stay in my room all the time. But I peeked through my door earlier and… I didn’t hear anything so I cautiously made my way back to the cafeteria to get something to eat. Nobody was there this time, thank goodness…”

: “You probably scared them all off with your smell! You know, there’s still a chance to use the showers before nightti— oh? Too late.” Suddenly a bell rang through the school. I could hear Monokuma’s voice coming from the intercom.

: “Ahem. This is a school announcement. It is now 10 PM as such, it is officially nighttime. Shortly, the cafeteria’s doors will be locked and entry at that point is strictly prohibited. Well then, goodnight. Sweet dreams.” And with that, the intercom clicked off.

: “How did you do that from right here?”

: “Haven’t you ever heard of a ‘pre-recorded message’ before, you stupid boy?”

: “Hey, why do you keep attacking him?”

: “Because guys like him are such eeaaasy targets! C’mon, say something mean about him. You know you want to.”

: “No I don’t! He’s a little unkempt, but he’s still my classmate. Uh… I guess?”

: “Whatever. Damn goody-two-shoeses… lousy generation— too sensitive…” Monokuma continued to mumble similar things under his breath as he left us alone.

: “H-hey… thanks f-for sticking up for me. I’m sorry you had to do that for me.”

: “I didn’t _have_ to do anything.” Tatsuhiro yelped at my tone. “I did it because Monokuma’s a huge bully. And if we’re going to be living like this for… God knows how long, then we might as well get along. It’s not fair to pick on people who can’t defend themselves like that.”

: “I… c-can defend myself…”

: “Oh… that’s not what I meant—”

: “It’s okay, I understand. Umm… I’m going to go back to my room now. I finally got something to eat.” Damn. I just remembered why I came out here to begin with. Now the cafeteria’s doors were going to be locked. My stomach growled and Tatsuhiro laughed. “Here,” he said, handing me a bag of chips he had been keeping under his arm. “I hope they’re not crushed too badly.”

: “Aren’t you going to eat them?” He shook his head.

: “Consider it a thank you for defending me.” He cracked the lid of the soda he was keeping under his other arm. _Pssh_! He took a thirsty gulp. “Oh,” he said. “I didn’t catch your name.” Already he seemed to be coming out of his panic attack. I was glad I could at least do some good today.

: “I’m Hayate Ishida. The Super High School Level Lucky Student.” Tatsuhiro gave a sort of “Mmm— aha!” noise during his gulp. He came up for air with a deep breath.

: “It’s good to meet you, Hayate.” I hadn’t noticed, but we were walking back in the dorms. Tatsuhiro opened one of the doors. I hadn’t noticed this one before. It wasn’t out of the way or anything, I just never noticed it. But surely enough it said “Tatsuhiro Sakurasou” on the plaque and had a picture in his likeness. He started slipping inside.

: “Have a good night.”

: “You too. Oh! Tomorrow, will you join us and introduce yourself to the rest of us? I think everyone would like to meet you. And the sooner the better. It’s no good to be suspicious of other people and doubt them in this situation just because they didn’t meet you.” He didn’t look up from his game as he stood in the doorway. Slowly he nodded his head determinately.

: “… M-hmm.” And with that, he closed the door.

            Not really thinking, I popped open the bag of chips in the middle of the hall and nibbled on a few crushed-up crumbs. What a weird situation we were all in… with so many weird people. I headed for my room. As soon as I opened my door, the door from the end of the hallway opened too. Yuudai stepped out and eyed me. I raised my chips as if to say “I got something to eat.” He nodded at me, confirming that he got the message and I entered my room, finished the chips and fell asleep almost instantly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Congratulations!  
> You've unlocked: REPORT CARD.  
> Now that you've finished this chapter, you can feel free to visit the Report Card any time. Its first page will remain spoiler-free for this story.  
> Here's the link: http://archiveofourown.org/works/13071996


	9. Monokuma Theater 4

            It’s kind of sad how small this class is. It actually used to be an abnormally _large_ class! But unfortunately we cannot continue with perfect attendance. Those poor lost souls not participating in the communal school life have been guided by our beloved psychopomp. I’ll set out white chrysanthemums post haste. Maybe I’ll put out a few extras to expedite things along a little, upupupupupupu. Not that it’ll be necessary. These students are going to greet the beautiful psychopomp personally very soon. And you can take that to the bank.


	10. Chapter 1: If it’s Not Broken, Don’t Fix It (Continued)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The students spend some Free Time together and explore the school.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's a little bit of homophobia (from Monokuma mostly) near the end. I don't think it's anything that's that graphically upsetting, but I'm warning anyway.  
> Also fangz to izziee for all da hlep!!!!!!!!! i miss ug rl

_Ding-dong, ding-dong._

: “Good morning, you bastards! It's 7 AM and nighttime is officially over. Time to rise and shine! Let's all strive to do our best today.”

              That’s what I woke up to in this strange room. I woke up to a backhanded message from my cruel kidnapper in this room that wasn’t mine. It’s funny. When you’re kidnapped, you don’t _really_ wake up surprised that it wasn’t just a bad dream, no matter how much you hoped it would be. You wake up fully conscious of your situation. You wake up annoyed to still be in your situation. The only thing that feels weird (aside from everything) is the previous day. It seems disjointed from the rest of your life. You know that it happened— you experienced it. But because it’s so jarringly out of place and so far removed from normal, it seems weird. Like you have to verify that “yes, that day yesterday, that weird, weird day, did indeed happen. Those people you met, they are real, and the rules that were explained to you? Those are actual parts of your life now.” And although you acknowledge this, it still feels oddly fictitious. These were the thoughts that went through my mind as I stood in front of the toilet on this strange new morning in my strange new room. I brushed my teeth and noticed I looked a little strange myself. But then again, what wouldn’t look strange in this crazy school life of mutual killing? I’m just paranoid so I’ll look for anything I’d otherwise take for granted and don’t fully remember to point out as “odd.”

              Soon my internal monologue was interrupted by an abrasive buzzing coming from my door. I don’t know which would be worse to wake up to, the doorbell or Monokuma’s good morning speech. I got changed and opened the door. Ms. Hashimoto was standing at the other side of the door.

: “Good morning,” I said, still a little groggy.

: “Good morning, Hayate! We will be gathering in the cafeteria in ten minutes for breakfast and a morning discussion. Please do not be late. Also, did you know we have another student? I called him out a couple of minutes ago. I hope you all get to meet him and create fond school memories together.”

: “Oh yeah, Tatsuhiro? I met him last night.”

: “Oh. Good! You have an early start on the road to friendship then. Hopefully everyone else will be as equally excited to meet and greet him. Anyway, I’ll see you then.” Ms. Hashimoto walked away to the next room and I closed the door.

              So he wasn’t just a ghost student only I could see. Well, obviously. I wouldn’t believe something like that— I’m not Kai. But still, I was glad he kept his word and would be joining us. He should really get out more often. I went back to sit on my bed and reflect a little bit more before it was time to meet up and then I headed out.

              I noticed everyone else had already met up in the cafeteria except for five. It looked like Yuudai, Akihiko, Tanuki— or Natsuki, the flirty one and the mean one hadn’t shown up yet. Ms. Hashimoto greeted me in and led me to a seat. She was kinda pushy. She thanked me for coming, but I didn’t really feel like I had much of a choice. We were all seated to a long dining table except for Tatsuhiro who sat in a corner playing his game. I got up and sat next to him. He looked startled until he noticed it was only me. That didn’t stop him from wrapping himself up in his blanket more.

: “Oh, hey.”

: “Hey. Good to see you at breakfast.”

: “Is it?”

: “Well I mean… having everyone together makes it feel more complete. And a lot safer.”

: “But not everyone’s here are they?” He looked up but never stopped tapping his fingers against the buttons.

: “Yeah, you’re right.” I called over to our teacher, “Ms. Hashimoto, why aren’t the others here?”

: “Hmm. Maybe—”

: “Maybe someone died! That’s what you were going to say, right? That’s the only reason they wouldn’t show up. Or maybe… maybe they just don’t respect your authority as a teacher! Gyahahahaha!”

: “I was going to say ‘maybe they fell asleep, or forgot.’ I’m sure everyone’s just fine.”

: “Oh, but that’s such a boring answer.”

: “There’s nothing to get upset about. Nobody is going to kill anyone.”

: “They always say that! And I always say the same thing:”

: “I’ve always wondered who would win in a fight between Naruto and Batman.”

: “What?”

: “Huh?”

: “Batman, right?”

: “Don’t underestimate a ninja.”

: “Never mind that. Oops. That was a spoiler for one of the Monokuma Theaters. I hope the despair of an untagged spoiler won’t drive you to… kill.”

: “Doubtful.” DJ Revolution looked up from her music player to respond. It normally seemed like she was preoccupied with her music, but I guess she was listening to us after all. Monokuma sulked.

: “You’re probably right… Sigh. It ain’t easy bein’ monochrome.” With that sentiment, he disappeared.

: “I guess we should go check on them. Hayate, why don’t you go ahead?”

: “Huh? Why me?”

: “Isn’t it obvious?”

              I didn’t understand but I stood up anyway, trying to remember the faces of everyone who was present so I’d know who to get. I walked outside and headed toward the dorms when Akihiko came my way. He was exceptionally sweaty. This early?

: “Hey, Aki. We were looking for you. I was just coming to get you and the others, actually.”

: “Oh, me? I’m flattered. Sorry I’m late.”

: “You’re fine. We were just concerned. Did you lose track of time while you were exercising?”

: “Ahaha, something like that. Do you want me to go with you to check on the others?”

: “I should be fine.”

: “Oh good.” And as though he’d been hoping I’d answer like that, he trotted jovially into the cafeteria. Hmm.

              Because I wanted to see Yuudai the most, for no particular reason other than that he interested me the most as someone I knew and respected, I headed to his room at the far end of the hall. I buzzed his doorbell and after a little bit, the door opened.

: “Yah… who is it…?”

: “It’s Hayate.”

: “Oh… who?”

: “Hayate. The Super High School Level Lucky Student. We met yesterday.”

: “Oh right, right. Sorry, ‘m bushed. Kinda embarrassing considerin’ I sleep outside’n’all.”

: “Is everything alright?”

: “Yah, just tired from the night patrol. ‘S really stressful, ya’know? ‘N when I got back, Monokuma started bothering me and wouldn’t let me sleep. I still haven’t, actually, haha. Anyway, you needed somethin’?”

: “You were supposed to come join us in the cafeteria. Ms. Hashimoto came around?”

: “Yeah… yeah… oh— right. Completely slipped m’mind. Think you could cover for me, my man? Hate to be late for the first day of ‘class,’ but I just really need some shut eye. ‘Specially if I’m gonna be making this a nightly thing.”

: “Yeah, sure thing.”

: “Great, thanks man. I’ll pay you back later somehow.”

: “Alright, have a good sleep.”

: “Thanks.” He closed the door.

              I turned over the others who were missing in my head. It sure was hard to try and memorize fourteen other students you only just met yesterday… I recalled that one of the missing students was the Super High School Level Graffitist, and his door was right next to Yuudai’s. I rang the doorbell. Tanuki opened the door, saw me, and immediately closed it again. I rang the doorbell again. After a significantly longer period of time, he reopened the door.

: “Hi.”

: “Hey. Why’d you close the door on me?” He closed it again. And opened it.

: “Sorry, I panicked, haha. Anyway, what’s up?”

: “You’re late for our communal breakfast.”

: “Oh. Yeah, no thanks. Sounds lame.”

: “But I think Ms. Hashimoto really wants everyone to attend.”

: “My brother is older than her, I don’t have to listen to her.”

: “So you’re not coming?”

: “Nah.”

: “Aren’t you hungry?”

: “Nah.”

: “You don’t want to meet the new student?”

: “Nah.”

: “Fine…” Tanuki closed the door and I huffed. Ms. Hashimoto was going to be really cross with me if I didn’t make any of them come. Not that I was still entirely sure why I’d been tasked with finding them in the first place.

              Hideo was just down the hall some more, so I chose him next. Almost as if he’d anticipated my arrival, he opened the door immediately after I pressed the button.

: “Oh. Hello.”

: “Were you waiting?”

: “For you, darling, I’d wait a thousand years. Uh… erm… but, no, I was actually just heading out when you rang. Sorry.”

: “What took you so long? You’re late for breakfast.”

: “Makeup takes a while to apply.”

: “It doesn’t look like you’re wearing any makeup, though.”

: “That’s the idea. I uh, also didn’t wake up on the right side of the bed this morning. So it took a little extra time to collect myself.”

              Just down the hall, Tanuki opened his door again, heard us talking, and closed it again. Dammit, choose one! Opened or closed, in or out.

: “Oh… well it’s good that you’ll be joining us, I guess.”

: “Oh, us? I was hoping for one-on-one quality time. Uh. Anyway, yeah, I’ll be going.” His unwarranted, although admittedly charming, flirtations seemed a lot more hesitant and insincere today. He closed the door and went down the hall. I followed behind him.

              As I was walking, Tanuki’s door opened again, and he hastened out.

: “I thought you weren’t coming.”

: “This is my own decision made of my own volition.”

              I guess I wasn’t doing too bad after all. I mean, none of them were going because of me specifically, but I felt accomplished nonetheless. One last time, I tossed around the names and faces in my mind of those I had met. Only one student was left… what was her name again? I think she was the really mean one with the red eyes. Yes, it was definitely her, she hadn’t said anything rude when I got there earlier, so it had to be her. I was kinda scared someone might have killed her for being so mean, so I went to her dorm, two doors down from mine with a slight hesitance. Things were going too smoothly. I rang the doorbell of the Super High School Level Critic and… she didn’t answer. I rang it again. I waited a moment and rang it again, my heart pumping. Suddenly the door flung open.

: “Can I help you?”

: “Oh thank goodness, I thought—”

: “What. What could you have possibly thought that would justify not only bothering me— but ringing my doorbell three times?”

: “I was worried you might be dead.”

: “Wor—? Please. If I did die, I’d rather rot in peace than have my afterlife be interrupted by you. Now what did you really want?”

: “Ms. Hashimoto wanted to make sure you didn’t forget to come to breakfast.”

: “Oh, I didn’t forget.”

: “So are you coming?”

: “No.”

: “Why not?”

: “If you think I’m eating anything this school is serving, you must really think I’m dumb. You think I’m dumb, don’t you?”

: “No! Nothing like that.”

: “Then _you_ must be dumb. I’m not going. I told her and I thought she’d get the message.”

: “You really should join us.”

: “And why should I do that?”

: “Everyone else will be there. Oh— except for Yuudai. He stayed in to sleep.”

: “Hmph. What makes him so special?”

: “He’s protecting us at night.”

: “What ‘protection?’ We’re fine as long as we stay in our rooms. More like an opportunity for him to lay traps. I’m doing important things too, you know. I’m taking intense notes about this school so I can tear it apart when I leave.”

: “Monokuma said we can’t leave, though.”

: “Heh… that’s not how I remember it. He said we could under one condition, remember? The Graduation Clause.” I was pretty sure he called it the “Graduation Rule,” but—

: “You don’t mean?”

: “I don’t ‘mean’ anything. I’m just saying, he didn’t say there was _no_ way out.”

: “Oh… yikes. Well… you should still join us!”

: “Why? And don’t say something stupid like ‘because we’re classmates.’ I’ll write ‘dunce’ on your head in permanent marker.”

: “Uh… well… there are probably still notes you have to take, right? About the kitchen and the cafeteria? And you can’t take them all by yourself at night. And you’ll probably want to get everyone else to weigh in about their opinions about the food if you’re not going to eat it. For that aspect, you’ll either have to try it yourself or get someone to help you. You can’t just critique it without a basis. That’s slander.”

: “… I wish you would have just said it was because we were classmates. Fine. Give me a second. I need to find something to write on, I can’t find any of my notebooks. And it’s libel if it’s written. Fucking…” She closed the door mumbling and I trusted her to come join us.

I started back to the cafeteria and heard her door open as soon as I reached the cafeteria’s doors. She power-walked toward me, noticeably lacking a notebook. She told me she couldn’t find a single one so she’d just memorize everything she experienced until she could.

 

              We were all in the cafeteria now, except for Yuudai, of course. Ms. Hashimoto took the head of the table.

: “Stand!” We all stared at her. We knew what she was trying to do, but none of us were really feeling it. No matter how much she tried to cover it up, this wasn’t a normal school experience. This wasn’t normal.

: “Please? Come on, I’m your teacher and you should respect me.” Tanuki grumbled something about his brother, and Ms. Hashimoto cut her eyes at him. “Akihiko?”

: “Oh right, right, of course.” I guess he would be taking on the role today. “Stand!” Instinctively, all of us stood up immediately. Like I said before, the power of this guy’s command was _seriously_ frightening. “Bow!” We all obeyed.

: “Good morning!” Inspired to finish the ritual, we complied.

: “Good morning!”

: “Very good! Thank you, everyone. Now then, it looks like everyone’s here. Except for Yuudai. Hayate?”

: “He was very tired from his night patrol so I told him he could stay in.”

: “What a shame… missing our first day of class. I guess we can’t ask him if he found anything.”

: “Whatever he’d be willing to share, anyway.”

: “Hm?”

: “It’s awfully suspicious he’s not here. It gives him free roam of the school. Plenty of time to operate Monokuma.”

: “Ms. Hanazawa!”

: “I’m just saying what everyone’s thinking. The way he’s operating this entire thing is very suspicious. He was awfully quick to volunteer to check around the school at night. Didn’t even give anyone else a chance to volunteer.”

: “Yes, well, he’s also the best suited for the job.”

: “And also, his surname is Kuma! As in ‘Monokuma!’”

: “No way, dude… that’s way too obvious. It’s a clear red herring. Haven’t you ever heard that it’s never the obvious suspect? Obvious is too obvious.”

: “Sh-shut up! Stupid boy… I bet _you’re_ the mastermind behind all this.”

: “’Stupid boy?!’ But you’re a boy too! And you were just saying it was Yuudai. If it was me, I would have supported that it was him.”

: “’Obvious is too obvious,’ right?”

: “And this isn’t a story, dummy. Maybe he’s just really dumb.”

: “He _is_ really athletic. Athletic people are usually less intelligent, right?”

: “That is a nasty stigma!”

: “Isn’t he also the only athletic student?”

: “I— Cheerleading is a sport too!”

: “I mean like real sports. Or survivalism, or whatever.”

: “Aw, don’t break Aki-chan’s kokoro, Ishida-kun! It’s very fragile, you know.”

: “I’m— I’m not… sensitive…” Are you sure? Because that tone sounded really unsure.

: “Just because he’s not here doesn’t mean he’s Monokuma. Monokuma’s not here right now. But Yuudai was there when we first met Monokuma.”

 ****: “Maybe we didn’t nyotice him moving.”

: “Absolutely not. I kept a close eye on everyone.”

: “Oh, okay!”

: “Hey, how come you’re nice to her when she refutes you?” Yifke and Kai squabbled while the rest of us carried on with our conversation.

: “It can’t be him. When I went to talk to him he said he had been up all night because Monokuma was talking to him.”

: “Oh. And did you _see_ Monokuma at that time?”

: “N-no…”

: “So there’s no proof.”

: “I don’t know, I mean, Monokuma’s still not here right now.”

: “Well perhaps not right _now_. Right, Mr. Monokuma~?”

: “You call for me and so I appear! Like a demon with a forbidden name.”

: “Eek!”

: “Shucks, buster… you really figured me out, didn’t’cha? How could lowly students like you figure out my identity? **Yuudai Kuma**!!!”

: “Aah! It really is him!”

: “Please, even I’m a fan of this theory and I know that’s not enough to go on alone… he’s just screwing with us. Right, Monokuma?”

: “Aw… I can never have fun with you guys. You’re just too damned smart! You’d better not blow through the class trials when the time comes. Be sure to throw out some stupid theories to add some padding, alright? I’d be really, really sad if it ended too early.”

: “ _Anyway_. I’m not Yuudai Kuma. Or maybe I am. Maybe I’m a different Yuudai Kuma entirely. Or maybe a different part of Yuudai Kuma. Or maybe… just maybe… Yuudai Kuma is a part of me. Aren’t we all parts of each other? The Sun touches us all, and that horse hockey? Maybe I _am_ Yuudai Kuma and I said that I was earlier to make you think I wasn’t. Maybe Yuudai Kuma is the combination of Monokuma with a really lame pun. Maybe there are two Yuudai Kumas and it'll turn out I’m one of them at the end. Maybe I just spoiled our entire little story right now and everyone’ll brush it off as mad-talk until the end during the great reveal and everyone’ll be like no way! Mind _blown_! Oh, I got another one! Maybe it’s that girl again. You know the one. The one who dragged her sibling into helping her. Oh, but you’re not wearing bracelets… Ooh! Maybe one of us is an artificial intelligence. You kids know what artificial intelligence is? It’s a real thing.”

: “I know what floppy discs are!”

: “Sounds fake.”

: “No, they’re real! Honest!”

: “Well it’s not fake, and you’re stupid and dumb and you smell bad! Nyeh!” DJ Revolution looked offended… but only because she didn’t expect such childish insults. She turned her head back down to her music player.

: “We don’t even know if the Mastermind is anyone in this building. They could be hosting this game from space.”

: “Well, well, well. Welly, well, well, well, well. Well. What an interesting idea! I’d make a cute astronaut. But I’ll let you in on a little secret. Really stir the pot. Are you guys ready? Lean in real close now.”

: “I’ll tell you a little secret. I swear it’s the truth. **The mastermind of this game is inside this school right now! _And is one of the participants!_** You can consider that your first motive if you like. I was working on a different one, but I didn’t expect you guys to get so frisky about blaming each other so soon. It didn’t happen before.”

: “But how is this possible?? ( ⚆ _ ⚆ ) One of us? ゞ◎Д◎ヾ”

: “Oh it’s very possible. I assure you the mastermind is in this very building right now!!! Ooh… I’m shivering… think they’ll give me their autograph? I’m a huge fan.”

: “How do we know we can trust you?”

: “You have to. I’m your whole world now. Even if I _was_ lying, you’d have no choice but to believe me. You’re all out of options. There are simply no options at all. You can choose not to believe me. But even now, at least one person is thinking about it. Worrying about it. Getting all anxious inside about it. Getting ready to snap over it. Right, Hayate?”

: “Huh?”

: “But that aside, I have no reason to directly lie to you. Not about this, at least. This _is_ a game after all. If I just wanted to kill a bunch of kids I’d have done it— and I have before. That’s why you can all trust me. I’m not even setting up a scenario that’s any more especially dangerous than putting a group of high schoolers in a confined space for an extended period of time in general! You don’t _have_ to kill each other. But I know you will. Because that’s the point of this game!”

: “Yes, I have a question about that. You said you didn’t expect we would start accusing each other of being the mastermind because it ‘didn’t happen last time.’”

: “Well if there aren’t any more questions, I”ll just be on my jolly way. Buh-bye!”

: “Hey, wait!”

              And with that, he left us alone once more. Ms. Hashimoto awkwardly took up the reins again.

: “Okay… um. So why don’t we go ahead and get some breakfast? Some food should soothe our nerves.” She crossed her arms to hide it, but her hands were shaking.

              We all got up and got something to eat. I got some sausages, toast, an egg and some kind of exotic juice from a fruit with a funny name. Once we ate, Ms. Hashimoto addressed her matter of business.

: “Because this is still a school… mostly… we will still have classes in the evening.” A collective groan. “Hey, what were you expecting? We can’t just abandon civility and culture because we’ve fallen on hard times. Classes are held in bomb shelters too, you know. But because of the circumstances, I’m allowing every morning to consist of a communal breakfast followed by schoolwide ‘chores and club activities.’ Which means you can all spend time together in varied groups. But I expect you all to study and work during this time. Keep the school clean, look for ways out, the like.”

: “Doesn’t that seem… dangerous?”

: “This is why there will be strict schedules. I will assign who spends what time with who and where on rotating timetables. You are not to leave your assigned location until the specified time, and doing so will be a punishable offense. And of course will look highly suspicious if, God forbid, a murder should happen. So it is within your best interest to follow the rules and stay in your area. Groups will never consist of less than three people at a time for safety purposes. Bathrooms will be used in trios, and communally to avoid separation. Students are encouraged to use the instant messaging feature on the Student Handbooks to report anyone traveling outside in the halls or anyone who leaves their specified area. I will address it promptly.”

: “You want us to snitch?”

: “Tattling is encouraged and recommended in this dangerous situation we’ve found ourselves in. I’d like to believe nothing bad will happen, but… I cannot guarantee it. So I will do everything in my power to come close. Here are your groups for today…” and with that, Ms. Hashimoto proceeded to give us our “buddies.”

              I didn’t really pay attention to who everyone else was paired up with, but I was with Akihiko and Tatsuhiro. That was really convenient, considering I tolerated both of them pretty well. We were a group of three, but there were also two groups of four and two students left over. Because Yuudai wasn’t present, she probably could have just made three groups of three and one group of four and roamed the school by herself. But by imposing a situation where students would be left a member short, she created an opportunity to fill the space herself. If I had to guess, she was scared and lonely and wanted an excuse to force herself into one of the groups. Yuudai was exempt from the day’s chores. We (Tatsuhiro, Akihiko and I) were tasked with investigating the Science Room on the third floor. There were a lot of large and complicated-looking machines, I wasn’t exactly sure where to start looking for secrets or escape routes. Apparently neither did Akihiko, because he approached me while I was pretending to examine one of the machines when in actuality I was just staring at it, forgetting I was supposed to pretend to interact with it as well.

: “Do you think this is for real?”

: “I don’t even know what it’s supposed to do.” I nudged the metal base of the machine with my foot. I guess I didn’t really have anything more interesting to do with it.

: “No, I mean… this game. I’m having trouble just… accepting it, I guess?” He sat on one of the surfaces nearby. It looked like a table but I don’t know much about technology, it could have been anything. It could have even been a table.

: “He seems pretty serious. I mean, he _did_ explode. That didn’t look like a simple flashpot explosion or anything either. It looked like it was intended to destroy. If it hadn’t been for you, we would’ve been… well, toast.”

: “I was shocked when Natsuki threw it at me. I guess I just reacted instinctively. But what if that was planned? The entire scruff with Monokuma.”

: “You think Ms. Hashimoto is behind this?”

: “No, not necessarily. But maybe that was all scripted. By someone. Yuudai was quick to tell her to get rid of it. And then Natsuki took it away and gave it to me just before it blew up.”

: “I think it’s just because he knew you’d be the best throw. Yuudai’s probably okay too. He’s cool.”

: “Everyone kind of suspected him earlier too though, so I was just thinking. Who do you think is behind this?” I could tell Aki was feeling better from getting to vent his concerns, because he started kicking his feet in the air and playing footsie with himself, knocking them into each other like a Newton’s cradle.

: “I don’t know. I mean it could be literally anyone. It could be some billionaire with a monocle and a huge scar across his face watching from his space station with his other weirdo billionaire friends. The mastermind could be in this building— or in a safehouse a few blocks away, monitoring everything. Maybe it’ll turn out that the person controlling Monokuma is just a real Monokuma projecting himself as a robotic avatar.”

: “Wow, you think that’s possible?”

: “I mean. Not likely. But our biggest threat is to doubt each other, right? Didn’t someone say that…?” I couldn’t recall where, but I could have sworn I remembered being given the advice not to doubt my classmates. I guess it was just my own instincts.

: “What are you talking about with explosions?”

: “You weren’t there. During the entrance ceremony Monokuma showed up and started threatening us. When Ms. Hashimoto stood up to him he tried to blow up in her face.”

: “Huh?”

: “He just burst apart. He was kinda hot, like he was overheating when I threw him.”

: “So he’s got explosives in him? Or like some sort of overheating mechanism? Do you think we could use him to blow up an exit out of here?” Tatsuhiro didn’t look up from his game for a moment.

: “I don’t think so. He said we only got one free pass, beyond that he’d aim to kill as punishment. Plus, the rules also say we can’t damage school property. So I also don’t think it would be a very good idea to go and try and pull up loose boards or anything like that either.”

: “Good point. For such an old school, it sure does seem like it’s still really fortified.”

: “Do you think it’s got anything to do with any of these machines?”

: “No… these are just air purifiers. At least that big one is.”

: “How can you tell?”

: “Says so on the other side.”

: “Is there any way we could use that to escape?”

: “No. Actually, I think it’s probably here as an incentive to keep us here. We get fresh air year-round. I guess.”

: “There’s no fresh air like _real_ fresh air…”

: “Well get used to it!” The teddy bear had appeared out of nowhere yet again. “The outside isn’t the outside anymore. Not how you know it.”

: “What’s that mean?”

: “’What’s that mean?’ ‘What’s this mean?’ ‘Do we really have to do the killing game?’ Do you kids do anything else but ask questions?! If you were to count every question mark supplied by you bastards, you’d probably have eleventy-billion of those crooked shepherd hooks of inquisition! I thought you millennials of the digital era weren’t supposed to question anything. Just accept everything with complacency while you check your social media. Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that you’ll never taste fresh air again. Not even if you leave this place. Hope’s Peak at present is one of the only sources of fresh oxygen on the planet.”

: “That can’t be right.”

: “You doubt me, kid? Go ahead, kill someone and find out! You got two victims right here. Average Joe and Scrawny over there would be easy targets. And nobody would believe a little fairy like you would be able to take down someone. You could just lock yourself in that broom closet over there and act like you got overpowered.”

: “F-fairy…?”

: “Whatever. Hope’s Peak is your best bet as far as a breath of fresh air goes. One inhale of the smog out there would kill ya. It’d kill _you_ even quicker, huh? Not that air pollution is really a new thing. Even then it was a huge deal you humans couldn’t manage. You know why bears never get sick? We have no concept of pollution. We only care about honey and salmon. If that stuff only would’ve made you _sick_ back then… Yeesh.”

: “Did you just come to torment us?”

: “Don’t ask questions you already know the answer to. It’s redundant and rude.”

: “Was there a specific reason you showed up though?”

: “No. I just like showing up to supply incidental topical commentary. It’s the best part of the game, right? And if you watch let’s players you can’t say no, because that’s basically all they do too. I’m like the let’s player of this marvelous killing game you call life! Upupupu. With that little seed planted, however, I’ll let you get back to your not-work. I don’t want you blaming everything on me distracting you when Mizuki asks why you haven’t accomplished anything. She’s scawy! Scary delusional!!! Gyahahaha!” And with that, he slipped away.

              None of us really knew what to do after that, so we went back to not-work like Monokuma said. Having it revealed to my attention by Monokuma’s insults, I checked out the closet in the back. There wasn’t a lot in it. It looked like machine maintenance parts, some dollies and tarps and other stuff. Even some bleach and formaldehyde and stuff. Nothing really all that interesting. Akihiko came in behind me. I had to admit, I was a little scared considering the advice he had just received from Monokuma.

: “I just wanted to give you something, don’t worry.” Akihiko presented me with a can of Blue Ram. Oh man, I love that drink! I took it happily and took a deep drink. It was exactly the kind of boost I needed. Not that it actually did a whole lot to help with energy, but filling my insides with a familiar drink was enough to get me by.

: “Where’d you find this?”

: “From a Gachapon machine, actually. I mean… a ‘MonoMono Machine.’ I stumbled upon it while I was exploring and Monokuma explained it to me. It’s got all kinds of goodies you can get from it. But you have to use a special currency called a Monokuma Coin. He gave me one to try it out with. He recommended sharing the prizes with close friends. And I thought I’d give it to you as thanks.”

: “But I didn’t do anything.”

: “That’s not true! You made me feel better. Joy is a precious resource. It’s second only to hope. Even cheerleaders need someone to cheer for them.”

: “I guess I’m actually good for something, huh?” I chuckled.

: “Don’t say that!” I jumped back a little. I had never heard him speak that sternly and with so much resolution.

: “I don’t mean to be down on myself, it’s just luck is a pretty lackluster talent. It’s not even something I’m conscious of. I’m not even so sure it actually exists.”

: “But isn’t that so cool? I was thinking about it earlier— the Super High School Level Lucky Student title. It’s more than a raffle, right? When we’re scouted, we also have to perform an entry audition to showcase our talents. So the Lucky Student drawing isn’t just like a raffle at a shop, what if they’re consistently drawn to luck? Maybe the drawing is the Super High School Lucky Student scouting exam. How else to test for it? Maybe those with a more natural knack for luck are just inherently drawn to winning the raffle as a display of their talent.”

: “I’m pretty sure ‘chronic luck’ isn’t a real thing. It could be just anyone, and so just anyone is who is chosen.”

: “But maybe that person wins because their luck is stronger than all of the others’ luck. Even ‘chronic luckies.’ Maybe it’s like a dormant luck, they luck-out when it’s important. Do you believe in fate? It could be that that person is fated to win. Maybe it doesn’t just happen for no reason. Luck isn’t something that’s easy to grasp or classify. Because it’s so capricious it must be tough to qualify. There might even be different types of luck like how there are different types of musicians. Maybe that’s why Hope’s Peak is examining it so intently. It’s an entirely untapped field of study.”

: “That’s a lot of ‘maybes’ for something that probably isn’t as big of a deal as people make it out to be.”

: “Well think about it, did you ever notice you were exceptionally lucky before?”

: “No, not really. For all intents and purposes I’ve been very ordinary and unremarkable. I mean I guess I almost never missed with moves with low accuracy in video games and I got a lot of critical hits and I encountered rare palette-swaps more often than most people, but that’s not luck. That’s just randomly generated numbers.”

: “Unless luck is a universal force that alters the outcomes of those randomly generated numbers. Like a field surrounding you that affects the results without you actively realizing it. And what is the Lucky Student Raffle but a drawing of randomly generated numbers?”

: “I don’t think real people have some sort of aura that manipulates timespace around them for events to happen in their favor. The only people who have luck cycles or consistent luck must be like… leprechauns or something.”

: “Do you think leprechauns are real? I should ask Kai the next I run into him.”

: “He’d know more than me. Probably only marginally so, though. I’m not really convinced that it’s not all bullshit. Why do you bring this up?”

: “I just think it’s interesting. It’s hard to understand and not as set in stone. You don’t take it for what it is at face value and it’s flexible. It’s something nice to be stuck with all your life as a branding from your high school days and interests. Unlike Super High School Level Cheerleader. I probably won’t be a cheerleader all my life. I probably won’t even be a cheerleader that much longer to begin with.”

: “You’re getting tired of cheerleading? That seems… counterintuitive to the cheerleading mindset.”

: “Oh, nothing like that. But don’t worry about it. Hey, I almost forgot.” He pulled another Monokuma Coin from his pocket. “Let’s try a test.”

: “Coins aren’t random number generators.”

: “Oh come on, they’re basically the same thing.”

: “There’s only two options, what’s it even going to—?”

: “Head or tails!”

: “Tails.” I felt compelled to answer. Damn that cheerleader charm.

Akihiko flipped the coin into the air and caught it in his hand. For only a brief moment I saw the smug grin of Monokuma facing upward from Akihiko’s hand, taunting me for getting it wrong. But it was only a brief moment, because the coin bounced out of his hand, hit a shelf nearby, fell onto the floor, bounced a bit, and then came rolling to a stop between our feet before landing on tails. Or… well… the school logo which could only be assigned tails in this situation.

              Like he’d seen me perform a miracle, he snapped his head back up with a smile that could give Monokuma’s a run for its money.

: “Oh shut up,” I told him before he could react further. I took another drink of the Blue Ram in my hand. “Anyway, thanks for the drink. It’s good to stay hydrated.”

: “Actually soda and energy drinks—”

: “Are you two okay in there? You’re not killing each other or making out, right?” He came in, staring at the screen of his PSVita, tapping his fingers rapidly. I don’t think it was an excuse not to look at us, though, considering he had only ever looked up from the screen maybe two times since we’d met.

: “No way! Don’t be gross. We were just talking about talents.”

: “It was fun, too bad you weren’t here, Tatsuhiro. I feel like Hayate and I grew a lot closer.”

: “So one of you is lying about making out.”

: “Stop, ew.”

 

              After a while longer of ogling at machines, the alarm on our student handbooks rang. For such a shitty school, the handbooks Monokuma gave us were surprisingly high-tech. I heard some of the students had even found a virtual pet game on it. I didn’t know a lot about psychology, but that seemed like a kindness from an emotional attachment level. Then again they also die really quickly… maybe despair is disguised in tiny everyday places. Regardless, the alarm meant that our “daily chores” were over and it was time for class. I couldn’t believe she was still forcing us to go to class even in a situation like this…

              Without any more complaining than was necessary, we left the science room behind and started our descent to the first floor. As it turned out, the room we would be calling class was the same as the one I first woke up in. Naturally I chose the desk I had been sleeping in. Once we had all filed in from our floors, Akihiko initiated the greeting.

: “Stand!” We all did.

: “Bow!” We did. Only a handful of us actually said good morning to Ms. Hashimoto, however.

: “Sit.” And at last we did so, happily.

              Ms. Hashimoto began calling roll, stopping awkwardly between some names. I guess she had trouble reading some of our names? The look on her face betrayed a much deeper-seated issue, however. Looking around I noticed that Yuudai had rejoined us. I guess nightwatch didn’t mean getting to skip class. Once roll was finished, Ms. Hashimoto nervously flipped through the pages of the attendance book with her thumb, as one might do with a novel they were apprehensive to read. We sat in this thick silence for way too long before she spoke.

: “This is going to be our first class together. It’s also the first class I’ll be teaching.” She tapped a pencil against her podium. “So, I think to start things off well,” which here meant something like, ‘so to ward off the chances of killing each other,’ “I think we should start off with something really classic. We’ll be doing a ‘getting-to-know-you’ exercise! I think we should try ‘Two Lies and a Truth.’ I’ll go first.” I couldn’t help but wonder if a driving influence in this choice was trying to teach us to look out for each other’s tells when we lie, to help prevent bad situations. But I don’t think she was that smart.

: “I’m Mizuki Hashimoto. Was I A: the Super High School Level Model? B: the Super High School Level Class Representative? Or was I C: the Super High School Level Teacher?”

: “She definitely wasn’t a model.”

: “Yeah, no way.”

: “Hey, no fair! I was very trendy when I was a student.”

: “If you were, you’d think we’d have heard about this. Especially with this many boys in class.”

: “Not necessarily.”

: “I think you look very pretty, Mizuki! The deep lines in your face are telling of your bottomless wisdom.”

: “… Thanks, Hideo, but please refrain from calling me by my first name.”

: “And I don’t really buy that Super High School Level Teacher is a title. Maybe ‘Tutor’ or ‘Teacher’s Assistant,’ but ‘Teacher’ implies a history being a teacher, right? Or am I thinking too much into it?”

: “So it was ‘B!’ She was the Super High School Level Class Representative.”

: “Y-yes…” Sounding defeated, she instructed us to write our lies and a truth on a piece of paper as well as our names to remind everyone. Didn’t we already do introductions? I guess she couldn’t resist doing it officially in the classroom. After a while of silence except for the tapping of pencils, she informed me that it was my turn.

: “Uh, okay. My name is Hayate Ishida and my lies and a truth are… uh… My natural hair color isn’t black, I have three pet cats or… um, I really like role-playing games.” Nobody said anything for the longest time until finally…

: “It’s the game one.”

: “Y-yeah…”

: “Natsuki?”

: “Oh, um…” Despite his mask, Tanuki appeared to be having a bad time. He practically radiated discomfort. His face shifted around the room as the pause continued, almost like he was waiting for someone to save the situation. “I think I misunderstood the instructions.”

: “That’s alright, just read us what you have.” There was a second pause, just as painfully awkward, as Tanuki looked from his paper, to the rest of us, and back at his paper, then back to us, then back at his paper. He cleared his throat, and then spoke;

: “Okay, uh. One; in Ancient Rome they had these things called, like, guise portraits, which essentially was a sculpture made for an aristocrat that portrayed them as a god they were associated with or related to a lot, so there was absolutely kin drama in the first century AD. Two; um, shrimps have 13 color receptors compared to humans, and, uh. Third; giraffes fight each other by smacking their necks together. It’s, um, called necking.”

              None of us responded in the duration of the third awkward silence. Ms. Hashimoto moved on to the next student.

              The introductions were a complete train wreck. After that, we had to sit through twelve more of these awkward icebreakers. Between Akihiko claiming to have turned down the initial invitation from Hope’s Peak, Hideo informing us that he was “single and very available,” and whatever Merisu was saying between those weird-sounding emoji noises she made with her mouth, it was a disaster. (But I think her lies involved something about having never dated a boy, having always been into lolisweet fashion, and her truth being that she “wasn’t perfect.” Because a truly perfect person would “acknowledge that they weren’t perfectly perfect,” apparently). By the time we were done we basically didn’t want to know anything else about each other for a while. But before we could move on, there was a voice from the back row.

: “Yo, teach!” Monokuma was squatting in the chair, running a comb through a pompadour he hadn’t had before. “Y’fergot’bout me.”

: “You are _not_ one of my students. If you want to sit in on classes I guess I can’t… I can’t _stop_ you, but I’ll ask that you behave and not interrupt!”

: “Muda! Muda, muda! Ye’d have better luck tamin’ a wild Alatreon. I’m a beast!”

: “Mr. Monokuma, please behave.”

: “Yes, ma’am.”

              What?!

: “Alright,” he continued, without the delinquent accent he had been using just a moment earlier. “My two lies and a truth: What did I do to Jin Kirigiri? Did I… overthrow his position as headmaster, torture him, and take over the school? Kill him by shooting him into space? Or did I dismember him, put the pieces in a present and give it to his daughter?”

: “ ** _Enough_**.”

: “Surprise! It was a trick question, I did all three! Or, well, another me did. It was like in another life. Ah, memories. Misty, bloodstreaked memories. Of the way we were.”

              Ms. Hashimoto took a ruler in hand and began to charge down the aisles, her feet stomping the floor heavily with each step. She looked like she was gripping the ruler so tightly that it was cutting into her hand. She passed me on her warpath by and I shivered involuntarily from the atmosphere she left behind. By the time she reached his desk, even Monokuma looked freaked out.

: “I am so sick of these games,” she hissed, bending down to come face-to-face with the mechanical teddy bear. “You want to torment us, I get it. Really, I do. I know you get off on this, you fucking psycho. But this is supposed to be _my_ year. _I_ am the teacher. I have been looking forward to this, and to these students for months. I take a good deal of pride in my job. And I am not going to let you impede my lesson plan. I am going to make the best out of this shit-fucking situation you put us in.”

: “I—”

: “Why don’t I just hit you right now? Go ahead, you can explode and wipe out this _entire_ classroom and we’ll _all_ be dead. Then your game will be over, won’t it? We’ll all be dead and your game won’t have even fucking started. And if you were telling the truth, you’ll be dead too! So why don’t I go ahead and risk it?”

: “Um, please _don’t_.”

: “A teacher isn’t supposed to endanger her—”

: “Or will you leave my class period alone so I can do some _goddamned teaching_ in this fabricated hell you handpicked just for us?”

              Without a word, Monokuma sulkily disappeared in that way he’s so famous for. Ms. Hashimoto straightened back up and took a brisk pace back to her podium and the room was silent, save for a single

: “Hell yeah.”

              Suddenly the monitor in the classroom flicked on and Monokuma’s voice came once more.

: “Due to recent events, I will be allowing you all to enjoy your classtime by yourselves. Because Substitute Mizuki is a big fat meany-face! You’ll all see…  you’ll miss me when I’m gone… But I won’t be coming back.”

: “Oh, and Mizuki? Don’t think you can make a habit out of that either. No one said exploding was my only trick. And no one said I had to punish someone immediately. _I know where you live. I picked it out for you._ Anyway, happy learning! You filthy animals.” _Click_.

              And with that, Ms. Hashimoto continued to discuss her syllabus that she had planned for us for the semester. Monokuma kept his… uh… cowardice, and did not interfere with class again. I had to admit, as much as I hated being forced to do classwork in a situation like this, at least this added a sense of normalcy to this unbelievable situation.


	11. Extracurricular Study Group

**Ms. H:** Okay, class. Because we have been given this public chatroom, I would like to set down the rules for its use. Firstly, please do not slack on your grammar studies just because you’re texting! Please remember your rules. Secondly, please make your chat handle your name, okay? This will prevent confusion, deception and it will more resemble a class roster. Lastly, of course, please have fun!

 **mustacheGucci:** we aren’t going to have to do group activities here are we

 **mustacheGucci:** like online class stuff

 **Ms. H:** Who is this? I asked you to use your name for a reason. Multiple reasons, actually. Despite our circumstances, I expect this to be a formal chatroom.

 **Xx_R1bb0nn1e_xX:** OMG this is sch a qute function!!!! (๑°o°๑) (ﾉ^ヮ^)ﾉ*:・ﾟ✧

 **Xx_R1bb0nn1e_xX:** ~~konnichiwa internetomodachiesss!~~

 **yifke:** i like ur emoji merisu. its so much nicer when its not hurting my ears omo

 **Xx_R1bb0nn1e_xX:** I lik yorz yfk!!!!!!!! theyd b evn quter wif ears ^ >w<^ see?

 **yifke:** youre right :O ^owo^ ty

 **Tanuki69:** is this thing working i spent like three minutes trying to get a message to send but i couldnt figure out the format

 **Ms. H:** Natsuki, that username is inappropriate.

 **Tanuki69:** why whats wrong with it its just a number

 **Ms. H:** I’m not stupid.

 **Tanuki69:** [This message has been deleted.]

 **Ms. H:** What did that say?

 **Tanuki69:** idk

 **The Hanazawa Report:** It said, “coulda fooled me.” [Sic.]

 **Tanuki69:** fuckin narc

 **Ms. H:** Thank you, Rin. You didn’t follow my instructions either, but I’m grateful your handle at least incorporates your name into it. And Natsuki, please watch your language.

 **SCP_1037:** If my handbook is hacked by a gremlin am i still held responsible for whatever it says

 **Yuuko:** Gremlins don’t exist, so yes

 **The Dark Pharaoh:** IF IM POSSESSED BY A DEMON AM I HELD RESPONSIBLE???

 **xxxRengexxx:** caps lock

 **The Dark Pharaoh:** Srry I was excited xp

 **Ms. H:** This is disastrous. I don’t even know who half of you are. We don’t even have a student named “Renge.”

 **SCP_1037:** Mayb its a ghost

 **SCP_1037:** Or a bodysnatcher :O

 **yifke:** :O

 **Tanuki69:** :O

 **mustacheGucci:** :O

 **The Hanazawa Report:** 9_9

 **DJR:** Who is Renge?

 **Yuuko:** Who is renge

 **The Dark Pharaoh:**  

 **Tanuki69:**  

 **Xx_R1bb0nn1e_xX:**

**yifke:**

**Yuuko:**

**Ms. H:** Stop spamming the chat.

 **SCP1037:**

**Ms. H:** @xxxRengexxx, who are you?

 **xxxRengexxx:** sorry i saw there were replies and got nervous so i put off messaging

 **xxxRengexxx:** its tatsuhiro

 **Kuma:** wth is happening

 **Kuma:** Why renge?

 **xxxRengexxx:** renge means “far from the one he loves” in floriography

 **xxxRengexxx:** my dad was the shsl florist

 **;) <:** I understand completely mon amour ✏

 **The Hanazawa Report:** It’s “amour.”

 **;) <:** Isn’t that what I typed

 **The Hanazawa Report:** You motherfucker, you edited your message.

 **;) <:** ;)

 **Aki:** is there a way to stop getting notifications every time someone posts something on this hellscape

 **yifke:** that wasnt vry cheerful

 **Aki:** sorry i’m just not feeling well :(

 **Aki:** oh! i mean :D!

 **:** Despair. ʕ✪㉨⚡ʔ

 **mustacheGucci:** that’s not even an emoji how did you make your handle that

**\-- has sent a photo.--**

** **

**Hayate:** hi.

 **Aki:** hey Hayate

 **Tanuki69:** heyate

 **yifke:** hi-ate?

 **Tanuki69:** orz

 **Aki:** bi-ate?

 **Hayate:** but i just got here haha.

 **Ms. H:** Thank you, at least, Hayate, for using your name like I asked.

 **Yuuko:** But i used my name 2

 **Hayate:** what?

 **Hayate:** i didn’t read that.

 **Hayate:** no i just don’t have a nickname or an online profile or anything.

 **Hayate:** and i thought using a gamertag would be stupid.

 **xxxRengexxx:** ._.

 **yifke:** :/

 **Tanuki69:** o.o;;;

**\--You have left the chatroom.--**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i think ao3 has something against excessive use of emoji or spam because after going into preview mode the chapter CONSISTENTLY cut off immediately before shunsuke posted the copypasta  
> i cant imagine why they would have such a policy against emoji or spam  
> dont toy w/ me ao3. ill create an entire story with nothing BUT emoji and itll be a literary masterpiece. (jokes)  
> but yeah the copypasta had to be included as a screenshot
> 
> also shoutouts 2 ben


	12. Chapter 1: If it’s Not Broken, Don’t Fix It (Continued)

              Our schedule kept the same, we all met together for breakfast, we split into groups (with the exception of Yuudai who still kept to his room) to maintain various rooms in the school, we met for class, and then we had dinner together. This repeated for some time, with only a few interruptions from Monokuma. Honestly, aside from those times when he appeared to ruin the atmosphere, it was pretty hard to tell that we weren’t just in a boarding school. The rays of the Sun would have been nice, but otherwise it wasn’t _too_ bad. Even his words about the mastermind being one of us had numbed.

              Today I had been placed in a group with DJ Rev and Kai in the music hall. DJ Rev mostly kept to herself, staying busy with her music player with nearly as much focus as Tatsuhiro put into his Vita. It was kind of hard to tell who was suspicious when so many of us could keep devices like those. On one hand using an electronic device was very suspicious, but on the other hand, it was just kinda _too_ suspicious. I felt that if the mastermind among us was using anything to control Monokuma— if they even were— it would be that student handbook we’d all been given. That would level the playing field. But I’m not really good at that sort of thing, so the mastermind could’ve been using a remote control in their brain for all I knew. Heck, Monokuma might have been lying. Or there could’ve been two masterminds, and one controlled him while another stayed in plain sight. But that idea seemed really stupid and even more complicated than necessary. It just seemed more likely that Monokuma was lying to us. How could someone be controlling him while in plain sight? And the only person who had been consistently out of sight… well… it couldn’t be him. He was protecting us at night. I’m… not sure what from, but he was protecting us alright.

              Anyway, Kai and I were playing around with the piano on the little stage. Neither of us knew what we were doing, but we managed to figure a couple things out. We also forewent the pedals because I wasn’t coordinated enough to use them and Kai’s prosthetic leg kept slipping off of them or sliding between them. They probably weren’t really all that important anyway. Speaking of which… I didn’t want to be rude, but I was really curious about something.

: “How did you lose your leg, anyway? If you don’t mind my asking.”

: “Oh! Really easy. My sister and I were on a stakeout, right? She’s my apprentice. I’ve taught her everything I can about the Weird Wide World out there and all of its Peculiarities. But yeah, we were on a stakeout in the woods. I don’t really remember what we were looking for at the time, it might’ve just been practice. But we went for a hike at night— not a good idea. Super not a good idea. _Ultra_ not a good idea. But we’re just kids, what do we care? And not just kids— kids on a mission. And well, yeah, I don’t really remember much about what happened. I think it might have been a conspiracy by aliens. I think that’s why I don’t remember much about that night. But I ended up with something super heavy on my leg.” Kai did his best to imitate a dramatic sting on the piano. “She said I was screaming a lot and it scared her, but then I suddenly got really calm telling her not to worry.” Yeah, that totally wasn’t aliens that made you forget! It was definitely the shock of whatever _actually_ happened. “Anyway, when I woke up I didn’t have a leg anymore. They wouldn’t give it back to me, so someone must’ve taken it. Someone with an agenda for harvesting human parts. I’m just glad they chose me and not my sister.” No… no, they definitely just disposed of your leg as medical waste. It probably would’ve been really freaky to see it detached from yourself anyway.

: “Do you ever like… miss it?”

: “Yeah. I guess not. A little bit? I mean, it was a part of me, but it’s not anymore. Do you miss a tooth when you have it pulled? You just don’t have it anymore.” A leg and a tooth are not on the same level. “It’s not like I can just get it back. I learned to get over it real quick. If you can’t adapt to the world around you, then you have no chance of surviving. Yuudai would probably tell you that! I have to hunt down all kinds of spooky, dangerous creatures. If I let a leg trip me up— uh pun _maybe_ intended— then I’m not gonna get far. How are you going to handle being pulled under by the Kraken? Being chased by Bigfoot? Surviving a Banshee scream or outsmarting a Kitsune? I mean, if a Dullahan can make it just fine without a head, then I can handle losing a leg, right? Also,” he said with more than just a touch of mischievousness in his voice. “I get this really cool prosthetic.” Kai lifted his leg and waved the hook of his athletic-style foot at me. “You can even decorate it and make it hold stuff! I mean, I guess you can decorate a leg too, but I can switch mine out. You’re jealous right?”

: “Get your foot out of my face, Kai,” I laughed.

: “Aw come on, admit you’re jealous! Rev thinks my foot’s cool, don’t you, Rev?” We looked over with stupid grins on our faces to where she’d been sitting in the audience seats but she was suddenly gone.

              We looked around, but we couldn’t see her anywhere. We even checked under the seats. Then Kai suggested we check one of the wings. Inside the wing to the left was where we found her, hunched over a box. Frightened at first, we were relieved to see that her fingers were making quick work of whatever was inside.

: “DJ? Uh, Rev?” I wasn’t exactly sure what I was supposed to call her. I guess either was fine though considering she nearly jumped out of her skin once I _had_ called her.

: “Jesus! Crap!” Her entire body flung around to face us, hands resting back on whatever had been in front of her.

: “You okay? We lost you.”

: “Uh, yeah, no. I’m fine. You just… you scared me. You snuck up on me. My music wasn’t even that loud.”

: “You could always just… turn it off.”

: “Not possible.”

: “What were you doing anyway? It looked like you were searching for something.”

: “I wasn’t looking for anything. Nothing specific, I guess. Just. Looking. Y’know.” That wasn’t even a remotely suspicious response. Not. At all. Y’know.

: “You can’t fool me! There’s something in here isn’t there?”

: “!”

: “You’re just hiding it from me, aren’t you? You’re hiding the fact that you… you found a brownie, didn’t you!”

: “I found a what.”

: “I… don’t see why a brownie would be in the music room. It’d be in the kitchen, right?”

: “A brownie, a house sprite. They’re helpful if you take care of them. They also like to pull pranks like turning milk sour, but that’s mostly if they turn into boggarts. You have to treat them right and give them nice gifts or they might do that. That’s where the connection to the Boogeyman comes from. Boggarts. The whole milk-souring and bed-creeping thing totally originates from boggarts.“

: “That’s… not what I was doing.” I could tell just by looking at her face that DJ Rev’s heartbeat was slowing down. “I figured we might as well accomplish… something, right? So I came in here to… count everything. As a report to Ms. Hashimoto. I was counting the records. There were about… thirty-two in this box.”

: “That’s a great idea! We should get an idea for what’s in every room so we know where to look if we need stuff.” He pulled out a notepad and we all went through the motions of listing what that wing held.

              Over a dozen boxes of records, CDs, and other prerecorded music, twelve violins, two bass drums, a cluster of reeds in a tub, five guitars of varying levels of acoustic-electric ratios, thirteen different kinds of amps and speakers, a box hidden under some shelves— full of recorders, and over forty other combinations of brass and string instruments I couldn’t identify. We counted one piano with a half-filled vase on the lid in the main hall with several rows of chairs for the audience, a metronome, and some spotlights. The other wing had discs with past Hope’s Peak concerts, music club performances, and auditions taped on them, some very noisy snare drums, a very heavy xylophone, no less than five (but possibly more since I couldn’t tell the parts apart) instruments involving glass bowls and radio waves or something, props and backgrounds for the stage, mic stands, sheet music stands, and lastly, more foldable chairs than could have ever fit on that single stage.

              I didn’t want to point any fingers, but by looking at how some of the noisiest instruments had been placed in the same room with most of the equipment to be put on the stage… seemed like a pre-orchestrated fiasco planned out by some sadistic member of the music club. I could even imagine something falling and hitting the xylophone just right at the end of all the commotion for just the right _wah-wah-waaah_ effect. There were other rooms stemming from the two main wings but they were blocked by too much heavy equipment. And to be fair, they were probably locked for all intents and purposes too. Just to scorn us for the hard work we would’ve put into moving everything. Before we even had the chance to check if there was anything beyond them, though, we got a notification on our student handbooks telling us that time was over and we had to return to the first floor for class. Walking into the classroom, it looked like everyone was there except for Ms. Hashimoto.

: “Yifke and I are going to have a sleepover tomorrow night, just so everyone knows,” Tanuki announced all too casually the moment we had shown up.

: “Ah man, that sounds like fun!”

: “You’re going to let someone in your room while you’re sleeping? And a boy? You _deserve_ to be the first victim.”

: “Yifke’s really chill. We’re bros.”

: “Yeah! Nyatsuki and I are… best friends!” Yifke made some kind of motion with his arms that seemed to represent an explosion to emphasize just how “best of friends” they were. The two high-fived and laughed to themselves.

: “And I’m going to draw fursonyas. I’m a fox and Nyatsuki is obviously a tanyuki.”

: “Ooh! What about me? What animal would I be?” He looked genuinely interested. Yifke, on the other hand, recoiled and looked genuinely repulsed.

: “A slimy, yucky sn—… snyail.” Hideo looked elated. Tanuki, however, placed a hand on Yifke’s shoulder and wagged a finger. Yifke’s shoulders sank and he looked… like he’d actually been scolded? He was an odd duck. Or fox, I guess.

: “Can I come to the sleepover too? I’ve never been to one, but it sounds like lots of fun!”

: “Nyo.”

: “Sure.” Yifke looked sour. Hideo looked ecstatic. Rin looked disgusted. And Tanuki looked… well, it was anyone’s guess what was going on underneath that mask.

: “Are you sure a co-ed sleepover is a good idea?”

: “Huh? How’s it co-ed?”

: “Don’t worry about it.” Before we could discuss the sleepover any more, Ms. Hashimoto entered the classroom and we stood for our greeting.

              Another class passed without Monokuma’s interruption. The casualness of our situation put us in serious danger of falling into routine. There was no way I wanted this to become my norm. But things wouldn’t stay so stagnant forever. Our entire world was nearly ready to be turned on its head. Like a pond whose reflection is shattered by the ripples caused by a stone cast at its surface. The breaking of Mother Nature’s mirror cursing humanity with generations of bad luck. A curse that would bring despair to all of us and finally push the ball over the edge and into motion tainting all it passes. A shocking event that would mark the true beginning of our School Life of Mutual Killing together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're an amputee and you'd like to discuss Kai's story with me, please, PLEASE, feel free to contact me. I am willing to adjust it to be more respectful/appropriate/accurate/etc.


	13. Chapter 1: If it’s Not Broken, Don’t Fix It (Continued)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What were you expecting? ANOTHER Monokuma Theater?  
> If you miss them that much I'll make individual custom Monokuma Theaters for the low, low nominal price of only one hundred USD a pop!  
> You won't get these kinds of deals anywhere else. Mostly because nobody else would ever try it. That's just the kind of pioneer I am, I guess.
> 
> shout iz

              The following day, the morning of Tanuki and Yifke’s slumber party, I was tasked with working with Rin and Hideo. We were stuck scouring the library for any clues of escape or anything explaining why we’d been trapped in the school. There wasn’t much of note, really. There were several desks that looked to be made of expensive wood with fine lamps on top. The whole room had that antique smell to it that apparently drove Rin and Hideo alike wild. Ignoring us, Rin took to examining the shelves, scrutinizing each book carefully. Hideo and I on the other hand took to talking at the desks.

: “You really like this smell?” I asked. He seemed to be savoring every whiff of the musty books he inhaled.

: “Maze oui. I did a lot of shopping for the host club at thrift shops, so this kind of old-fashioned smell is enchanting.”

: “Thrift shops seem a little… underwhelming for a fancy place like a host club.”

: “Well, the school didn’t have much of a budget to start. It was my club that put our school on the map.” His face swelled with pride, a pride that was entirely void of arrogance. “But I fell in love with the places so I kept buying from them. Our treasurer said it was a good idea since it gave us more money to spend on other things. He was so smart! If he hadn’t been there I probably would have spent all of the money on teapots and paisley suits.”

: “Would you really have blown that much money on stuff like that?”

: “’Blow?’ Those shops were a bargain! I’d never even touched a three-piece suit before starting the club. I hadn’t even touched a two-piece, nor have I touched a one-piece, but that’s probably because that doesn’t exist.”

: “So you guys really made that much money with your escort business? I mean, I guess that makes sense.”

: “ _Not_ an escort business. I gave you the speech already, weren’t you listening? The school I went to was very understated, and underfunded— left over from the Edo era. Seriously, it was practically made entirely of wood and paper! Everyone was always so bored and dressed in black, and gray, and navy blue, and it was so lame! We didn’t even have a dress code but everyone always dressed the same anyway!” Hideo had repositioned himself in his seat, clearly ready to dish out the gossip of his old school. Upon doing this, my eyes were drawn to him and I looked at Hideo’s vibrant suit. I could see how that kind of environment would have been stifling to a guy like him.

: “So, to cut down on the sadness, I got together a group of friends and we opened up the host club. I offered to take care of all of the funding so that Geia Commons Academy wouldn’t have to worry about it. That said, they just kind of let it happen.”

: “Figures you’d be rich enough to fund an entire club.” I said this, but then it occurred to me how strange it would be for him to be rich, and yet still go to a shabby school and frequent thrift shops.

: “M-mm! Not at all. I never even had toys as a kid. But I figured I could take care of it by myself, so I took on some extra jobs and did odd chores and made enough money to at least afford a decent tea set, a set of snacks, and a small array of furniture. Everyone was so excited that someone actually cared about them individually and would devote time to just hanging out with them that word spread fast. First students from other schools started showing up, then kids from out of town. Before we knew it, adults and teachers were even stopping by to feel appreciated. It was strictly professional, of course. Despite what I said in the speech, we didn’t really offer artificial romance so much as we did a sense of acceptance and appreciation. Then, as our school finally started raking in big bucks, I heard— quelle surprise— other schools were trying to make their own host clubs! I felt like an entrepreneur, pioneering a new field.”

: “So you become the Super High School Level Host for starting a string of host clubs in your area, and making your school richer?”

: “How tryst, Hayate, you’re zero to three!” I think he actually tried to say zero to three in French, but it actually just ended up sounding like normal. “Because we had a slow start in regards to funds and all, our host club wasn’t even the most successful. We were famous for our sincerity in interacting with customers, but our club still wasn’t that ritzy. Now, I’ll give you that perhaps Hope’s Peak recognized my passion and verve. My ingenuity, my trendsetting nature that can help cultivate hope and talent. But I like to think that I had a very special secret weapon that set me apart from every other host and hostess who dared follow my footsteps. A little edge that put me ahead of the curve and made me a superior host.” Reaching across the table, Hideo grabbed my hands, but only the fingers. I could practically see the roses manifest behind him as his sweet smile formed those two words.

: “I’m pan.” His lovely eyes hid behind a thick forest of delicate eyelashes and I— I— I realized again that I was _strictly_ heterosexual and removed my hands from his.

: “Wh-what’s that.”

: “I get along with boys and girls, and all sorts of other people. ‘Bi’ works too, but I don’t know, ‘pan’ always had a stronger allure to me personally. Plus, those pride flag colors are something you could _really_ put on a suit.” I wasn’t familiar with the pan pride flag colors, but I couldn’t imagine they were subtle or very complementary if _Hideo_ wanted them on a suit. “None of the other guys were like that, so there was an entire demographic getting turned away. Well, they wouldn’t be turned away, but they wouldn’t receive satisfactory treatment either. I made friends with a lot of boys that way. Even certain girls who felt more comfortable around someone like me. They felt exactly how I wanted everyone to feel when I started the club. Like they were welcome and that they belonged.”

: “Oh that’s… kind of gross.”

: “No it’s _not_!” His fist fell down on the crown of my head in rebuttal. He hadn’t put his full strength in it, nor did he mean to hurt me, but dammit it still hurt!

: “Hey, if you’re going to kill each other you should probably make sure you do it somewhere there’s no witnesses, just saying. Also, Hideo’s right, you’re being childish.”

: “Hey, were you eavesdropping?” Rin gave out a series of sputtering noises from somewhere behind a bookcase, apparently incapable of forming a sentence.

: “It’s not eavesdropping if you’re _right_ there! What in all fuck-all, Hayate? You weren’t even whispering. And you shouldn’t have been talking anyway, we’re meant to be _doing_ something.”

: “I’m surprised you even care this much. You seem like the kind of girl who’d be like, ‘Feh. Screw that silly nonsense, I have better things to be doing…’”

: “I _do_ have better things to be doing. But we’re here, and this is our task, and if we leave we’ll probably get an annoying lecture that would only waste even more of my time. Only then I wouldn’t be able to spend the waste of time with some amount of autonomy. I had hoped that fellow elite students of Hope’s Peak would share my diligence. Furthermore, I’m disappointed in myself that I’ve done anything that gives you the impression I’m not a hard worker. Not a team player, maybe, but not a slacker.”

: “Then is there something for us to do that you have in mind?”

: “Yes, actually, get off your lazy, useless asses and get over here.” We got up and slogged over to where she was, still hiding behind several bookcases.

: “Do you see this?” She pointed to a pretty thick novel that was stuck between two others on the shelf. While we were distracted looking at the book, I only just barely saw her move something small and black into her pocket out of the corner of my eye.

: “That sure is a book. In a library.”

: “God, what a smartass. Look at how it’s just been stuffed in there. It’s practically bulging out between the books it was forced between. And there’s something next to it.”

: “I don’t follow.”

: “This book didn’t belong here and someone shoved it in there and forced it to fit.”

: “I don’t see why I should care. It’s just a book. And, again, it’s a library. Someone probably just didn’t feel like finding where they found it to put it back.”

: “It’s also remarkably clean. All of the other books are caked with, ugh, dust. Aside from a few fingerprints, but this one looks like it was a relatively recent addition.”

: “So… one of us brought the book and put it there?”

: “If that were true, then why? But I don’t think it is, while it’s much cleaner, it’s still a little dusty, just not _as_ dusty. Which means that it was put here at least somewhat recently, but probably not after we all woke up here.”

: “So… maybe one of us took it from somewhere, knocked some of the dust off, and then put it where it didn’t belong.”

: “That’s fair. But also very stupid. It doesn’t have any fingerprints on the spine, it’s a solid film of dust. And for the matter of being misplaced, that’s the thing. By all means it’s exactly where it should be, alphabetically. I checked all the other books on this shelf and they all belong too. Only, this particular book doesn’t fit the genre. Going by the Nippon Decimal System, it’s not quite right. Though it’s as close as possible, considering this library doesn’t appear to have a section dedicated to romance.”

: “I don’t get it. Am I just dumb?”

: “Yes.”

: “Well if you’re so fucking smart, then what does it mean?!”

: “I don’t know.”

: “Great! I guess you were so bitter you were having _your_ time wasted that you decided to waste _our_ time too! Thanks!”

: “But your intelligence isn’t related to this. The point is, is that this is a clue. And that’s what we are supposed to be looking for. There’s something about this book that’s off. It’s where it belongs— in theory— but is clearly out of place. And so that’s… why… I…” With a great amount of force, Rin began tugging on the book by its spine. She had to exert so much force that she actually put her foot up on the bookcase for leverage. At last the book slipped out, and Rin along with it. Fortunately, none of the other books fell out, but Rin did fall hard on her butt. When we offered a hand to help her up, she waved us away, and then turned her attention back to the novel on her lap. Her eyes grew considerably.

: “What is it, is it a book you reviewed once?”

              I could only imagine how that might feel for a critic like her. To have a ghost of your past come back to haunt you… ‘I thought I took care of you,’ I imagined her saying in a gruff voice. ‘Heh… I’d never die so soon,’ the book returns. ‘You’ll have to try harder than that to take a bastard like me out. We don’t die so easily!’ And then the book would draw its katana and lunge forward, only narrowly missing Rin. Then she’d draw her own katana and they’d duel fiercely. And then I started thinking about Shunsuke and the fantasy kind of soured for me.

: “Uh, no, actually. I’m kind of surprised it’s really what it said.”

: “Why wouldn’t it be what it said on the spine?”

: “B-book cover, maybe? I don’t know. Er… if it’s alright I think I’ll be holding onto it for a while.”

: “Why’s that?”

: “It’s just interesting is all.” There was an interested tone to her voice, that’s for sure. She sounded like she was… genuinely happy by what she’d found? I peeked at the cover myself to see what it was that made her so sheepish. _Before the Sea’s Scent Fades Away_. Huh? I’d never heard of it before. By To—, but before I could finish reading, Rin stood up and tucked it away under her arm.

: “I’ll… report back if I find anything interesting. Oh yeah.” Returning to the bookcase that _Before the Sea’s Scent Fades Away_ had come from, she retrieved the significantly thinner piece that had been crammed in alongside it. I hadn’t noticed before, but looking at the bookcase now, it was clear how absolutely packed they’d been by the intrusive novel. “’Heretic Angel…’ Feh, you can have this,” Rejecting the booklet, she held it out as an offering to Hideo. It was a… “Heretic Angel ☆ Mochi Mochi Princess Buuko” fanzine. Something else I didn’t recognize.

: “Wow, really? Thanks, Rin.”

: “So what’s important about these two that would make them a clue?”

: “That’s the point, I guess. Figuring out the significance. I’d guess the mastermind put them here. If nobody else noticed them being there, and nobody else put them there, then someone else must have put them there. We’ll have to ask around to see if anyone knows anything about them— but without mentioning this specifically. I’ll have to track down Yuudai myself.”

: “Hm? Why’s that?”

: “He’s the most suspicious, obviously. Like I said earlier, maybe a little too suspicious, but still suspicious. And it’s awfully convenient he has such a free reign of the school while we’re asleep and not supposed to be out of our dorms. Even if he’s not the mastermind, he could be the mastermind’s mole. These books could be how they communicate. Maybe there’s something written inside of them, or passages highlighted. Or the different combination _du jour_ of books packed into the shelf means something, like a code. I guess we’ll find out after I… read this.” Her face seemed to flush with excitement. She sure seemed to have some very specific feelings about that Sea Salt Smells book.

: “And if anything weird starts happening because their communication was cut off…”

: “Uh, y-yeah. And that too. I guess you’ll have to be my lookouts while I read the book. See if anyone acts weird now that their informant can no longer relay messages. That’s a hefty task I’m putting on some incompetent boys.”

: “I can’t tell if you’re being nice to us or not, but you’re usually a lot meaner.”

: “You’ll earn your right to exist just like the rest of us. Maybe you’ll surprise me. I doubt it— but hey, what do I know? Anyway, I’ll be… reading this now. You two check on everyone else before class.”

              She didn’t even bother going back to the desks with us, she just plopped herself down on the library floor and began reading. We didn’t dare to talk anymore, afraid it’d be seen as slacking off. Not that we really felt that we had anything to prove to Rin, but it felt nice to crack through the icy exterior and have her actually treat us… like human beings. Mostly. So amid the silence, we heard the odd giggle coming from somewhere in the library, which we also didn’t dare bring up.

              The minutes began to pass so slowly in our silence… Hideo had his fanzine to flip through, but I just had to sit there. Agonizing. I guess I could have picked up a book and read too, but it wasn’t really my thing. Books are hard because you don’t know if it’ll actually be something you enjoy until you’re halfway through it and you get an idea of what the style is like. That’s why I preferred manga, anime, or video games. At least with those you can get an immediate idea of it just from absorbing the art style. Besides, I thought reading was pretty lame, anyway. Books are cool I guess, but isn’t it also kind of limiting? With the stuff I just mentioned, you’re using the same elements as books but you’re adding even more that makes it even better. There’s still reading but now there’s more substance. Who would ever choose to read a novel of something when there were other alternatives, like early development games or even YouTube animations?

              To satisfy a growing curiosity and boredom in me that couldn’t be quenched by the walls of books surrounding me, I chose to investigate the door off to the side. Inside was a semi-circular room with the most surprising thing I could have expected to find in the library’s annex: more bookshelves. These shelves, however, were mostly empty. All that remained were empty binders, the shells that once housed documents, I imagined. The only ones that remained weren’t very interesting and mostly discussed historical crimes or scandals that had been released to the public. The only thing that was particularly interesting was a wastebasket in the middle of the room. Inside were the charred, ancient remains of a binder not unlike the others in the room.

              The binder wasn’t in bad shape itself, but the only thing I could make of its title was “Case File.” The pages inside were ruined and didn’t offer any information on what it was about. The only parts that I was even barely able to make out were pictures of young men. Other than that, there was nothing there. I let the binder flop back into the wastebasket— a move that proved to be a mistake as ash puffed up and even more pages crumbled.

              When the time came to pack up and head to class, I tried to mention the binder to Rin but she still had her nose stuck in her Smelly Oceans of the World book. She said she’d look at it later, but was too busy reading to really pay much attention.

              Back in class, we were the only students with anything to report. Rin, taking a break from her novel, advised us not to talk too much about what we’d found. With the working theory that the books were a way of communicating among the masterminds, if any, it wouldn’t be wise to overshare. So to compensate, she and Hideo just showed off the books they’d picked up from the library.

              With so much having just happened and in such rapid succession, I’d nearly forgotten the weird thing I’d noticed when Rin called us over to check out the bookcase. I got up from my seat and walked over to her. She didn’t have any friends so she wasn’t talking to anyone which made the whole ordeal easier.

: “What was that thing you were holding in the library?”

: “I— the— wh—? It’s called a book, Hayate, _good god_. Did you forget what eating utensils are too?”

: “No, the thing you were holding when we came over. You were holding something black but you hid it when we approached.”

: “You saw me holding something suspicious while you were trapped in a library with me as I called you over to an out-of-the-way corner to look at something non-descript… good to know your sense of self-preservation is so low! If I wanted to kill you I guess I already have the gameplan, don’t I?”

: “Don’t, stop that, that’s awful!”

: “You haven’t forgotten the reason we’re here, right?”

: “I thought we didn’t know why we’re here.”

: “We don’t. But we know what we’re supposed to be doing. Don’t act like just because we’re all getting along that nothing will happen. Don’t delude yourself that much. This is still a very dangerous situation we’re in, and one I plan on living through.”

: “Don’t tell me you’re—“ I was starting to get loud. I didn’t appreciate Rin talking like this. It was scary, and moreover, it was evil. She shushed me down.

: “I’m _telling you_ what I just said. ‘I plan on living through’ this.” To change the topic, she brought up the original reason I’d come over. “Anyway, this is what I had. That’s all.” She was holding a very small pocket-sized black leather booklet. “I told you I was looking for a notebook because I couldn’t find any of my own. This was sitting on top of the bulging books that had been forced into place. I figured I’d take it to write notes in. I also figured that maybe the mastermind might have been using this like I suggested with the two books. But there’s nothing in it, so I just took it.” She showed me the first couple pages, as if to prove it to me. I nodded and took off back to my seat. Behind me I could hear Rin scribble something onto the page.

              At last Ms. Hashimoto entered the classroom. After the morning greeting, Kai stood up excitedly.

: “Ms. Hashimoto, I was wondering if we could do something! Asuka and I were thinking it might be fun to take a class photo.”

: “That sounds like a great idea to me! What… brought about this decision?”

: “Well, if we’re going to still try and get through this year like a real schoolyear, then we should do some yearbooking too, right? I gladly nominate myself for head of Yearbook Club!”

              Although all of us were pretty caught off-guard by the sudden photoshoot, we all shambled to the front of the class. Kai pulled a telescoped tripod from underneath of his desk and set his camera up in the center of the classroom. Asuka helped him in getting everyone into position and in-frame. Once everyone was in place, the two of them set the timer and dashed into the group with us. At last it clicked and with a flash our entire class was immortalized in portraiture. It was the first in-focus photograph Kai Kugimiya had ever taken.

              With only that single irregularity standing, class went on as normally as it had been. But that normality was not to last. The morning and noon were average, but it was that night that was going to change everything. None of us could have anticipated what was about to happen. We were entirely unprepared for the tragedy that was about to occur on the night of Tanuki’s slumber party.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> happy pride, you bastards, also maybe like three of the characters in this entire story are straight and hayates a dipshit


	14. Chapter 1: (Ab)Normal Days: A Deadly School Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our first incident!  
> Warning: This chapter contains spoilers for this chapter.

_Oh my. I won't say that the following chapter is overly graphic, but I must warn the discerning reader that this chapter contains death! Surprising, huh? If you are not good with mild descriptions of dead bodies, then I advise you take extra caution in proceeding. Take care, and don't forget to stay hydrated and get plenty of rest!_

              Of course I wasn’t invited to the sleepover. It was a wonder that Hideo was even allowed to go considering how much Yifke hated all of the boys in our class. All of the boys except Tanuki, anyway…

              So without much to do, I just stayed inside my dorm room for the entire night. Once curfew hit I felt kind of bad that I hadn’t grabbed a book from the library too. It was so tragically boring and dull sitting all by myself. All that stuff I’d said about games and television was true… but I hadn’t considered how useless they were if there was no television to watch them on or console to play the games on. And the group chat feature on my student handbook was limited strictly to group chat, which meant that if I wanted to talk to anyone all sense of privacy would be lost and I’d have to talk with people I didn’t want to as much as I did those I did want to. So I just had to sit there in my room. Waiting. Ignorant to the good times being had in Tanuki’s dorm by good friends. Ignorant to the world falling apart around me. Ignorant to everything outside my cell until my eyes finally fell for the last time that night and I fell asleep to be whisked away into the new morning.

              After I woke up and got ready for the day, Monokuma stopped me before I could make it to the door. What a motherfucker.

: “Hey, Hayate! I was thinking, you know how you still owe me for that super-duper sugoi-rific student handbook I gave you? It’s like… mega awesome. It’s got so many cool features… I even included a MonoGatchi pet game at no expense to you bastards. It’d probably retail for thousands on the market, honestly. But I was really cool about you not having something to trade in for it, remember? And I said we’d figure out a deal later.”

: “What’s your point? I’m busy, bear.”

: “Wah-wah-wah-wah! That’s just the kind of uguu tsun-tsun appeal that mega-attracts me to a cool-dude like you. So that’s why I was wondering…” Monokuma lowered his head and blushed. He traced a circle on my carpet with one of his little feet. “If it wouldn’t be too audacious of lil’ ol’ me… c-could I have your second button???!?”

: “You what?”

: “Y-you know, bastard-baka—“

: “Why are you talking like that?”

: “— like when you graduate and you give someone really special to you the second button from your uniform? It’s a symbol of affection and that two people will be tied together forever… or something. And you’re just so cool that I’d _looove_ to have yours.”

: “Whatever, just take it if it’ll make you leave me alone.” I ripped the second golden button off of my gakuran jacket and tossed it at him. He jumped up in the air and caught it between his paws. If all he wants to call us even is a button I don’t even need, and he’ll let me get on with my life, then I couldn’t care less.

: “Fragment get! Oh, I’m raising all the right flags. Before long you won’t even be able live without me. We’ll be inseparable like… like twins! No, no, like… uh… Huh?” I picked Monokuma up and gently placed him aside so I could leave. “Hey, that’s not assault but it’s not beary nice either!” As I started to shut the door, he had only one last thing to say. “Well, good doing business with ya.”

 

              We all gathered for breakfast, but unlike the days prior, not all of us showed up. Kai wasn’t there. Ms. Hashimoto sent me to get him from his dorm like she had me fetch Rin, Hideo, Yuudai, and Tanuki on the first day. But he would not answer me. In a panic, I went to Yuudai’s door and knocked on it too, but he didn’t answer either. It wasn’t strange that he hadn’t been to breakfast, he rarely did anything at the same time as the rest of us. When Yuudai wouldn’t answer either, I returned to the cafeteria with a pit forming in my stomach. Ms. Hashimoto, on the other hand, was more annoyed than worried. She went off to the dorms herself while we all ate.

              Once she returned, she hadn’t been any more successful than I had been. Nervous and irritated, she put us all into groups. Because our numbers were off even more than before, she assigned me to stay behind and stay with her. I wonder how much of that decision was made by her own anxiety. The reason didn’t matter, all that it meant was that I was to hang out around the dorms with her while she banged on doors and everyone else explored the school.

              Monokuma had been very quiet these past days, aside from his intrusion that morning. So it was a shock when we suddenly heard him again. I’d nearly forgotten how loathsome his voice was, even after only having just spoken with him that morning. With a charge of static shock, every telescreen in the school surged to life and his crackly, tinny voice spoke, filling the academy with his horrifying news.

: _Ding-dong, ding-dong_. “A body has been discovered! Following a brief period of investigation, we will commence our school trial!”

              Ms. Hashimoto and I looked at each other so quickly our heads might have snapped off had it not been for our necks. I had no idea what the announcement meant exactly, but I could still feel the bile in my stomach churning. Our eyes were wide and we stared at each other with sunken faces of dread. I could feel my heartbeat stop, but also pump in double-time, and also leave my body. This all happened over only the course of a few seconds before our student handbooks let out a _ping_!

**YIFKE: emergency, emergency!!! 〇Д〇 in the music room!**

              We both took off as fast as we could toward the fourth floor. When we got there, everyone else was just arriving and we were all in complete shock at what was there waiting for us.

              Lying face-down on the floor, only just in front of the doorway, was Kai Kugimiya, the Super High School Level Cryptozoologist. In front of his head was the camera he often kept hung around his neck, busted, battered, and broken. A pool of liquid surrounded his body. His prosthetic leg had been removed, but I didn’t notice where it was until I saw more people crowded around the stage. Its sleek black and green design was jutting out of the lid of the piano, which was crooked and at a weird angle. That’s when things got worse. I noticed that just under the base of the piano was a body sticking out onto the stage. It was long and lean and wore a pleasant assemblage of browns and beige. Made primarily of leather, the body wore a vest and shorts with more pockets than I would have ever known what to do with. With only his head out of view, the body of Yuudai Kuma was lying motionless underneath of the grand piano.

              There was a din of surprise among us, shouting the typical exclamations you might expect. “What the hell?!” “What is this?” “Is this for real?” “Let me out of here!” “Who did this?” “What’s going on?” “I want to leave.” “I can’t handle this.” “This is way too much.” Etc.

: “Alright, alright now. Quiet down.”

: “How can you expect us to quiet down?”

: “Because this next part is very important. You may remember when I was explaining the rules to you all, and just a few seconds ago over the telescreens, that I mentioned after someone died there’d be a period of investigation followed by a class trial. This next part is very, very, _beary_ important to your survival. After all, if the culprit gets away with it they get to leave and everyone else gets punished. But if you can figure them out then only the culprit gets punished.”

: “I don’t remember anything about everyone else getting punished if the culprit succeeds.”

: “Yeah, and I have a question about that, what does ‘punishment’ mean exactly?”

: “Well, if there aren’t any other questions, I’ll move on to the next order of business.”

: “Oh come on! You always ignore my questions. Totes not fair.”

: “I think I speak for Asuka-chan when I say: ‘(ఠ్ఠ ˓̭ ఠ్ఠ)’”

: “You probably do since there’s no way I could say that. I wish you’d stop making those noises with your mouth like that, but I appreciate it…”

: “In due time, everything will be revealed in due time. Your generation is so obsessed with immediate gratification you just can’t appreciate the nuances of suspense, can you? We’ll talk about it more in the class trial. Right now, precious time is a-wasting. The first order of business is this.” Monokuma presented us each with an electronic tablet. When we booted it up, there was a silhouette of Yuudai and a photograph of his body under the grand piano. It gave us details on his measurements and the crime scene.

  * Who: Yuudai Kuma
  * When: Sometime during Nighttime
  * Where: The music room
  * How: Blunt force trauma to the skull from a single strike



              The “what” we all already knew. Someone had died. As for the why… I guess that was for us to figure out, but Rin’s words returned to me. Someone had killed him in order to escape from Hope’s Peak.

: “For each murder I’ll give you a Monokuma File with the basic details of the case. That should help you get started and establish the basics.”

: “But what about… Kai?” Hesitantly, DJ Rev nodded toward his body which was still lying in front of the door. Though her nod was barely noticeable among the variety of other strange new twitches and tics she was performing. “Doesn’t he get a Monokuma File too? I don’t see him on the pad.”

: “Oh yeah. Him.” Our tiny captor waddled over the boy’s body and gave him a kick on the head. “Hey, wake up. Remember what I said about sleeping outside of your dorms? Get up, up, up. Up at at ‘em. Hey! Wake up, you bastard!” Suddenly, Kai started stirring and lifted himself up.

: “Guh… Wow. I can’t feel my leg.” He felt absentmindedly for his prosthetic which we’d found to be stuck in the piano.

: “Oh, thank goodness.” She went to help him up, but he didn’t have enough balance to stand up by himself. Hideo took up the role to keep him balanced. Kai was disoriented, but safe.

: “What happened, Kai?”

: “Nnn, I don’t really remember. Ugh, my head.”

: “How awfully suspicious.”

: “Hey, leave him alone.”

: “Thanks, Yifke.”

: “Don’t talk to me.”

: “Oh.”

: “Do you remember anything at all about what happened last night, Kai? Anything?”

: “Not… very vividly. Can I have a second to rest? My head _really_ hurts.”

: “A second to make up an alibi? Sure, but it’d better be good. If you get all this time to come up with one, it better not be lame.”

: “Enough.”

: “Sorry. But you know it’s suspicious.”

: “We’ll just give him a minute. We’ll come back to him later to hear what he has to say after we’ve investigated the rest of the crime scene.”

: “Aw, you guys… You’re so adorable! You’ve already fallen into the roles of detectives just like that! It’s so sweet I might— hurk… urk! Brk! Errh! Phew. Nope. Nope, I’m good. Anyhoo, I’ll leave you all to it. Buh-bye!” With that, Monokuma disappeared in his usual fashion.

: “Hayate.”

: “Yeah?”

: “You’ll be working with me.”

: “What? Why?”

: “You really think you’ll be of any use by yourself? Besides, I told you. You’re my lookout while I’m working on that thing. I don’t _want_ to hate you, you know. But you’ll need to give me a reason not to first. So prove yourself during this class trial.”

: “I don’t know that I want to. Plus, all this searching sounds like a big pain. I’m starting to feel sleepy…”

: “Wrong answer. Now you’ll have to try harder than ever to win me over. We have to start investigating.”

: “Why bother? All he said is that he’d punish us if we didn’t find the culprit. What, we’ll get like, no dessert for a month or something? Grounded? Demerits on our permanent records? I want to find out who killed Yuudai too, because that’s a terrible thing and you can’t justify murder, but it’s not as urgent as you’re making it out to be.”

: “Wrong. Again. Monokuma refuses to explain to us what ‘punishment’ entails. That’s suspicious too. Amongst a whole host of suspicious things. Also, we’re in a game where the goal is to kill each other. I don’t think Monokuma is in the business of petty penalties. And use some critical thinking. What you just said doesn’t make sense. This is obviously going on for a reason. So there has to be an incentive to continue it and keep it going. Monokuma wouldn’t make it so that we could just shrug the responsibility off, there’d be no reason to continue. It’d defeat the purpose. I don’t know what he plans on doing to us if we fail, but it can’t be anything good. I think you’ll remember I told you that I had full intentions of surviving this killing game. So you’re going to work with me, we’re going to figure out whodunnit, and we’re going to win.”

: “You’re… oddly optimistic.”

: “I can’t do everything by myself. No matter how much I want to. Now let’s get started.”

: “Wait, what about Hideo? He was supposed to be your lookout too.”

: “He’s busy supporting the liar. We’ll have to do without him for this trial.”

              Rin and I went to the piano. We couldn’t stand to lift it off of Yuudai’s head, but the Monokuma File reassured us that the piano was indeed what crushed his head. No need to check four ourselves. We were good.

              Together we observed that the legs on the piano were no longer screwed in. This must have been how it crushed his head. We noticed nothing strange about his body except that he was holding a CD case. The CD was, according to the cover, marching band music. Weird, but noted. Rin kept track of all of the clues in the notebook she’d found in the library. Moving on, we checked the trashcan. Inside was a lot of glass, screws from the piano, and a small splattering of water mixed with trace amounts of blood.

Next in the line of investigation were the side rooms. We counted over a dozen boxes of records, CDs, and other prerecorded music, thirteen violins, two bass drums, a cluster of reeds in a tub, five guitars of varying levels of acoustic-electric ratios, thirteen different kinds of amps and speakers, a box hidden under some shelves full of recorders, and over forty other combinations of brass and string instruments I couldn’t identify. One of the thirteen violins was broken, though, and was lying on the floor. Rin wrote this down in her new notebook too. The other wing didn’t have anything of interest.

We returned to the piano to investigate Kai’s leg, still stuck under the piano’s lid. The piano lid wasn’t really that heavy to require something to jimmy it open, but it also wasn’t very light and the lid, when fully closed on the piano, was too close to the body to really get at the crack with your fingers. Inside, among the hammers and strings, was a single shiny golden button. Rin looked at my jacket and then back at me.

: “I’ve noticed, aren’t you missing your button too?”

: “Yes. B-but I didn’t do it! Monokuma asked me for it this morning. He said it was payment for the student handbook.”

: “Mhm.” I couldn’t tell if she believed me, but she accepted what I had to say. Next we turned to talk with Kai, who was now sitting on one of the audience seats next to Hideo.

: “Do you remember anything now, Kai?”

: “Yeah, my head feels a little better and I think I remember what happened last night. I was outside of my room, near the kitchen. Tatsuhiro was in there too, but he left just before Nighttime. Afterwards I stood outside the cafeteria and I saw someone run past. I followed them up some stairs, but I lost track of them real soon. Then I heard something and sourced the sound to this room. But as soon as I walked in I fell asleep.”

: “'Fell asleep.'”

: “Yeah. I mean, I didn’t just pass out. I think someone knocked me unconscious, ‘cause my head still hurts.”

: “Can I check your head for a second?”

: “Sure, go for it.”

: “Hayate, why don’t you go talk to Tatsuhiro while I do this.”

              She came up behind him and raked through his wiry hair with her fingers. While she investigated, I noticed Tatsuhiro was huddled up in a corner, so I went over to talk to him.

: “Hey, aren’t you going to do any investigating.”

: “N-n-no. It’s horrible, t-t-too h-horrible. I’m f-freaking out. I can’t handle this, Hayate! It’s w-way too much. First being kidnapped, then having to talk to strangers, now a murder and a trial? There’s no way we can win. There’s no way we can beat Monokuma.”

: “Hey, calm down, alright? If you just breathe, then everything will be okay. We just have to have hope, right? That’s what he hates, right? So if anything, hope just to spite him. It’s our best chance of getting through this. Even if we fail, at least we’ll have done it positively. Not… sniveling backed in a corner. No offense.”

: “Y-you’re right… I should be stronger. I should do some investigating to help everyone s-solve the case. We’re all depending on each o-other. If I can’t have hope… then I really don’t have anything. Is there anything I can do to help?”

: “Yeah, actually. Kai said he saw you in the cafeteria last night before Nighttime.”

: “Yeah, I was getting food before it closed down.”

: “He also said he saw someone suspicious running by shortly after. Did you see anyone?”

: “Y… yes. On my way back to my dorm, I heard a door open. Nervously, I peeked around the corner and saw Hideo. I called for him, and he twisted around. W-when I asked what he was doing, he flashed a key to me and said ‘bathroom’ shyly. I stood outside my door, and after a little while I heard a door open and close, so I went back into my room.”

: “Huh… but… why didn’t he just go in Natsuki’s bathroom?”

: “Uh… shy, I guess? Prettyboys like h-him are probably shy about… bathroom things. Or maybe someone was already in there.”

: “Oh… yeah, I guess.”

: “I-I don’t understand what’s so embarrassing. It’s j-just natural.”

: “Yeah, I guess.” I really didn’t want to be having this conversation with him during an investigation. “Are you feeling any better?”

: “I guess. Not really.” Indeed, he was still trembling a lot.

: “Well, I’m going to get back to helping Rin.” With a kind pat on his back, I returned to Rin who was finishing up her investigation of Kai’s head.

: “Alright, thank you very much. There are a few cuts, but luckily you didn’t get any pieces of glass stuck in your head.”

: “Find anything?”

: “Where were you when you saw someone running, again?”

: “I was in the kitchen.”

: “During Nighttime?”

: “It was just before Nighttime. I was actually on my way out before the announcement played, and that’s when I saw the figure in the halls.”

: “Okay, that’ll be all. Ah. And I’m sorry about your leg. I’d give it to you, but I hope you understand that for the time being it’s evidence.”

: “Yeah…”

              Next order of business, according to Rin, was to talk to Tanuki and Yifke. Before we set out, I slipped beside Hideo to ask him a favor.

: “Hey, you like helping people and making them feel better and stuff, right?” I whispered to him.

: “Of course. Do you need some TLC, Hayate?”

: “… No. But I think Tatsuhiro could really use a friendly hand and shoulder to help him. He’s looking pretty rough.”

: “Say no more. But first…” He pulled Rin and myself aside, out of Kai’s earshot.

: “I don’t want to bring a lot of attention to it, but I saw something I think you might want to know, Rin. Yesterday, after class, I went back to the library and I saw Yuudai talking to someone next to the suspicious books.”

: “Who was it?”

: “It was… the DJ.”

              In shock, I turned suddenly, and entirely conspicuously to find DJ Rev. She was in one of the opposite rows, head between her legs, still twitching uncomfortably. I was going to ask her if she was alright, but Asuka took a seat next to her and I decided to let her handle the situation instead.

: “Are you certain?”

: “Yes! Do you… do you think Yuudai really was complicit with the mastermind?”

: “Possibly… but for now, we have to investigate other things. I’ll keep it in mind, though. You did a good job.”

: “Mercy boku!”

: “Oh hey, before we’re done, Hideo, did you see anyone in the halls last night when you went to the bathroom?”

: “… Ah… oh. You mean the lavatory.” Just say bathroom, Hideo, everyone shits. “Hmm… No, I don’t think so. I saw Tatsuhiro on the way to the bathroom.”

: “Anyone else?”

: “No, only Tatsuhiro.”

: “Okay. Thank you for your help.”

              With this new, unsettling information, we continued on our path toward Tanuki and Yifke. Hideo made sure Kai would be okay by himself on the seat, and went to sit next to Tatsuhiro in the corner. The two started talking.

: “Did you find anything in Kai’s hair?”

: “We’ll talk about that at the class trial.”

              Before I could complain, we had reached Natsuki and Yifke who stood side by side next to the piano in grim terror. Rin began speaking immediately. It was a brisk and heavy pace, the exchange between the two of them.

: “You had your slumber party last night, right?”

: “Yeah.”

: “And who was there?”

: “Me, Yifke, and Hideo.”

: “How long did the sleepover last?”

: “From before Nighttime to when we all woke up and met in the cafeteria.”

: “The Monokuma File says Yuudai was killed _during_  Nighttime.”

: “Right. So, did anyone leave at any time?”

: “No. We all stayed inside my room all night.”

: “Tatsuhiro said he saw Hideo outside.”

: “Must have been after we were asleep, beclaws he didn’t leave while we were all still there.”

: “But Tatsuhiro said he saw Hideo only briefly before Nighttime.”

: “Oh… well… that’s probably because...”

: “We totally sacked out early.”

: “Would it be okay if I took a look inside your dorm?”

: “I’d really rather you didn’t.”

: “I’d rather I did.”

: “Oh. When you put it like that.” Tanuki held out his room key.

: “What did you guys do that night?”

: “Well, we talked mostly. We played little games and told stories. And also, I drew everyone’s fursonyas!”

: “What were they?” ?! Is this… really the time to be talking about that…?

: “Well, Nyatsuki was a tanyuki, obviously, and I was a fox. And Hideo was an icky snyail!” He stuck his tongue out in a cutesy way.

: “Oh. That’s not very nice.”

: “You can’t spell ‘hideous’ without ‘Hideo.’”

: “Be nice.” Yifke’s whole body went at ease when Tanuki put his gloved hand to Yifke’s cheek. It seemed like Tanuki was trying to teach Yifke to be nicer to boys. That was a good thing.

              With everything in the music room taken care of, Rin said she thought it would be best to move our search to the first floor. She explained that she was going to search Tanuki’s room and that I was to inspect the cafeteria and the kitchen.

              While she was gone, I didn’t see anything strange in the cafeteria. I turned my gaze to the kitchen, but the only thing out of place that I found was… a bowl of spoiled milk. I was disgusted, but I took note of it. After what felt like an eternity, Rin returned.

: “How’d Tanuki’s room look?”

: “I couldn’t get in.”

: “What?”

: “The key didn’t work.”

: “So he gave you the wrong key?”

: “No… I don’t think so. I don’t think she even knew it wasn’t her key. It does have her name and portrait on the keychain.” She showed it to me, and sure enough, the masked face in pixelated form dangled from the keystrap. “So someone must have taken her key. Anything in the kitchen? Any missing knives, evidence Kai was there last night?”

: “Ah, actually I found a bowl of spoiled milk.”

: “Spoiled… uh. Okay?”

: “Actually, it makes sense. The other day Kai told me that a way to attract brownies was to leave milk out to dip themselves in.”

: “What?”

: “Or that like, they’d leave their boogies in it? And that’s why the milk sours. Because their boogies are in it. And that’s how milk works?”

: “I’m speechless.”

: “Yeah.”

              That was all I got to explain about cryptids before Monokuma flooded the school with his damnable voice again.

: “Well, I’m officially bored now. That’s enough of that. It’s about time we get to the part everyone’s been waiting for. The real meat and potatoes of our killing game. The heart-pounding excitement. The revelations of truth. The turning of friends against friends all culminating into a final decision that singles out one of the people you called friend. Will you make the right choice? Or will you make the wrong choice? Will a killer go free tonight? Or will they be punished? Will your friendships be destroyed minutes before your communal punishment for accusing the wrong person? Or will relationships be strained as the ability to trust each other is put to the test? I guess we’ll have to find out! Allow me to announce our meeting place. You may recall on the first floor there is a fancy red door nearby the AV room. That door will now be open. Meet inside. Well, I’ll see you all there! Upupupupupu~.”

              Because we were already on the first floor, Rin and I got there first. Everyone else started their arrival as well, finishing with Kai, Hideo, and Tatsuhiro. Kai was finally back on two limbs and he thanked Hideo for his aid. We would have consulted our findings, but most of them had stayed in the music room for their investigation, and Rin advised me to just wait until the class trial before we shared what we’d discovered. I agreed.

              Out of all of us there, DJ Revolution seemed to be the most distraught. She was still visibly shaking with tear stains on her cheeks and red eyes which betrayed her emotions. It felt weird… knowing that she might be the mastermind, but still, I couldn’t help by try to console her. I extended an olive branch toward her.

: “What’s wrong, DJ?”

: “My music player… stopped working. It stopped working just before the investigation and I can’t fix it. It won’t turn on, it won’t charge, I can’t get it to do anything.” Although it no longer worked, she still kept it in her hands, fiddling with it.

: “Well I guess we’ll have to look at it later. I’m sure it’ll be alright, though, so stop crying. We’ll fix it.”

: “That’s not the problem. I’ve never lived in a silent world. From the moment I was born I’ve been surrounded by music, always playing nonstop. But now the world’s so quiet. It’s so deafeningly quiet. I can hear everything. I can hear myself breathe, I can hear myself swallow, I can hear everyone and everything and it’s too much. My world’s gone mute and stagnant with chaotic arrhythmic staccato. I can’t stand it. I _need_ music.”

: “You could make your own noise.”

: “What?”

: “You’re always so quiet, you don’t ever talk very much. Maybe you could fill the quiet void with your own voice instead. This trial would be a good time to let your voice out.”

: “But my music kept me calm and contained when this world around me went wild and crazy. Now I don’t have anything to keep me grounded or comfort me. And also… I figured that if I avoided talking to people, then I could avoid forming bonds. Then I wouldn’t be upset when… the inevitable happened. And yet… never mind.”

: “I know it won’t be the same as your headphones, but maybe you could hum to yourself in between talking. You’re a famous composer too, yeah? You could focus yourself on making new music instead of listening to old music. This could be a great opportunity to make some new scores.”

: “That’s… that’s not entirely a bad idea. Thanks little man.” She patted me on the head, body still shaking, but noticeably less. As I walked away from her, I could hear her produce a few very silent notes. It was not the humming of the musically inclined, though. It was the kind of hum you do when you’re in the dark and scared to try and relax yourself.

              Monokuma appeared, in his usual fashion.

: “Our cast still looks so big right now, it’s nearly overwhelming. But I guarantee you you’ll start noticing the numbers drop later on. It’ll be shocking how small it seems then. Let’s see… we’ve got Normie, Bitchy, the Chuuni, the Pseudoscientist, Teen Mom, Pep Squad, the Hermit, Ivory Bright’ness Sanity Alabaster Duff,—“

: “೭੧(❛▿❛✿)੭೨”

: “— DJ Dizzy, Cool Cat, Tamaki, Trash Panda, Nancy Drew, aaand… Mizuki. Who are we missing again? I feel like someone’s gone but I just don’t remember who…”

: “Yuudai. Yuudai died. You just gave us his file.”

: “Don’t be so damn cruel.”

: “Oh yeah, Crocodile Dung-dee. I’d nearly forgotten about him. He didn’t really have a big role, did he? Kind of a bit character. We didn’t really know anything about him. I guess that’s just how it is sometimes. After all, if the person who died was the person their entire chapter focused around it’d be too obvious and that’d be boring. Maybe we’ll learn more about him some other time. Maybe. Anyway, I’ll ask you all to step onto the elevator to take you all to the courtroom. There we’ll begin our class trial.”

              With only minimum complaining, we filed onto the elevator as its doors shuddered open. Then, with a metallic groan and screech, the elevator dropped us slowly into the depths of Hope’s Peak Academy.

              We were about to begin a horrifying ritual. A showcase of despair. A colosseum of betrayal. A trial of truths. A, uh. An. Um. A terrible class trial. A _deadly_ class trial.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now that you've read this chapter, feel free to head over to the second chapter of the Report Card for bonus content!  
> https://archiveofourown.org/works/13071996/chapters/35141231  
> More to come soon, so look forward to it.


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